That philosophy propels - and sometimes carries - Kovacich through her work as director of a local youth home and a food bank. 

That’s what the governor told a crowd of more than 100 who attended a grand opening ceremony Wednesday morning at the center, located at Lewistown Municipal Airport.

Schweitzer said that when he took over as governor two years ago, Montana’s corrections population was growing at a faster rate than any other state.

“I asked why this was happening and I found we were just warehousing people,” said Schweitzer. He said he discovered that people were going into the system, staying a while, being let out and then returning to the system.

“We hadn’t treated the underlying cause. Meth is one of the most addictive drugs there is, worse than anything else,” he said. “We knew it would take more money to reform the system but if we don’t spend it, we will eventually have more people in the Big House than we have out of the Big House.”

Schweitzer headlined a group of speakers that included Sen. Jim Peterson (R-Buffalo); Lewistown City Manager Kevin Myhre; Airport Board Chairman Darryl McKenzie; Kathie A. Bailey, executive director of Snowy Mountain Development Corp.; and others. Mike Thatcher, chief executive officer of Community, Counseling and Correctional Services Inc., acted as master of ceremonies.

CCCS is the Butte-based firm that built the $10 million center and is operating it for the Montana Department of Corrections.

The governor set the theme for the ceremony by thanking the people of Lewistown for supporting the construction of a meth treatment center here and thanking Montanans for allowing the state “to be on the cutting edge of corrections policy.”

He even praised the Legislature, members of which he had criticized harshly when the Legislature was in session. He said they “did well in 90 and 5 days.” He was referring to the fact the Legislature reconvened for a five-day special session to approve the state budget and other bills.

“Montana is on the move,” said Schweitzer. “And you are feeling it here in Lewistown as much as anywhere else. When I get back to Helena I am going to tell them you filled the gym for this event.”

The speeches, followed by a ribbon-cutting ceremony, were held in the new facility’s gymnasium.

Two-time convicted meth offenders being held in other areas of the state’s penal system are to begin arriving here on Friday. Only those approved by a Lewistown screening committee will be allowed to come.

“We have said to Montanans and to the people all over America we are willing to try something new – we are willing to stake out a new course,” said the governor.

Thatcher, in remarks following the governor’s, said this was the third grand opening of a community corrections center he has attended since Schweitzer became governor “and this speaks volumes about (the governor’s) commitment to corrections programs.”

In introducing Peterson, Thatcher said “Jim was a stalwart in the whole process. He was critical to getting this project approved. The notable thing about it was that it had bipartisan support. Everyone embraced the idea that we need to do treatment (of meth offenders).”

Peterson, as a member of the House in the previous Legislature, carried the bill that allowed this type of meth treatment in Montana. Several who spoke Wednesday credited Peterson’s work to pass that bill as paving the way for the Lewistown meth treatment center.

“A little over four years ago, this process began. I recall a lot of meetings and a lot of conversations and a lot of phone calls. It required a change in the law,” said Peterson. “And while I carried the bill that changed the law it was all of you who made this center possible with your trips to Helena, your letters and petitions and your other efforts.

“When we started this in 2003 and 2004, more than 400 people a year were being sentenced into Montana’s criminal corrections system for drugs and a high percentage of those were meth addicts,” Peterson said.

The Buffalo Republican said the 80-bed Lewistown center is the first treatment center of its kind in the United States. He said this center is for men only. A similar facility for women has been constructed at Boulder.

“I hope you are proud of it. It is too bad that we have to have it, but we do need it,” said Peterson. “They (the patients) will finally get the treatment they need. They will be in here nine months.”

Peterson and others noted that not every community in Montana has welcomed correctional facilities. They continually praised Lewistown for the support it gave in bringing the meth center here.

John Hertel, chairman of the Fergus County Port Authority, said his organization was instrumental in bringing the meth center to Lewistown. He said Port Authority board members initially wanted it because of the jobs it would bring and the other economic benefits.

“But when it got going and took off, they also became involved in wanting to provide a center that would help meth addicts,” said Hertel.

“On behalf of the Port Authority, I just want to say this is truly a grand day, a grand day for the state, for Lewistown, for Fergus County and for all of you. We’ve worked for this for a long time. I am absolutely elated by it,” Hertel said.

Thatcher read letters supporting the center from Sens. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.), and a representative of Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.) read a letter from him.

Thatcher also handed out awards to several individuals including Tim Robertson, CEO of Century Co., the prime contractor, and Bret Birdwell of Birdwell Builders, subcontractor.

Thatcher said the contractors had done a “phenomenal” job but apologized that the landscaping around the building was not completed.

“The landscaping isn’t done yet,” Thatcher said, “because it has been raining in Lewistown for several days.”

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Meth treatment center in Lewistown ready to open
Associated Press, Posted in the Missoulian on 5/29/07

LEWISTOWN - The first 14 patients at a new 80-bed, $10 million methamphetamine treatment center are scheduled to arrive here Friday.

"This is the culmination of four years of trying to put together a program that's new and exciting," said Mike Thatcher, chief executive officer of Community Counseling and Correctional Services of Butte, which contracted with the state to build and run the facility.

An open house at the Nexus Correctional Program is planned Wednesday.

The Nexus program will offer a highly structured, nine-month treatment program for meth addicts convicted of crimes, seeking to change their thinking and lifestyle, Thatcher said.

"We'll be dealing with people who have intensively and extensively abused this drug, and the majority of the research suggests that they will be suffering greater cognitive defects," he said.

Structure is important because meth addicts tend not to have it, said program administrator Don Schroeder.

"They've been staying up all night, using crystal meth and alcohol, living moment to moment," Schroeder said. "This structure gives them a model for the way they're going to have to start living their lives responsibly."

Thatcher said patients will undergo daily group therapy, substance abuse counseling and counseling to deal with other issues such as domestic violence, anger management and grief and loss.

"With crystal meth, you pretty much destroy all the people around you," Schroeder said.

The program will also focus on job skills and life skills from doing laundry to going back to school.

"Parenting classes are critical because a lot of these people have kids and we want them to be responsible parents," Schroeder said.

About the only free time in the week will be Sunday afternoon, when families can visit.

After nine months of intensive learning, the patients will graduate.

"Most of these guys have met with failure in everything they have ever tried - school, family, relationships and jobs - so we celebrate all the successes we can," said Schroeder. "And we hope they'll be successful when they leave this program."

Graduation will be followed by six months in a prerelease center, Thatcher said.

Corrections officials say the center is expected to add 12 men per week and be full by late July.

Elkhorn Treatment Center, the women's meth treatment center in Boulder opened in April and has filled about half of its beds, officials said. Boyd Andrew Community Services of Helena built and is operating the women's center under a contract with the state.

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Facility is for just those in corrections system
Great Falls Tribune, 5/29/07

Since the Nexus Treatment Program is run by the Department of Corrections, its clientele will be limited.

"And that's my major frustration," said Mike Thatcher of Community, Counseling and Correctional Services, which will be running the program. "I can't imagine the number of people who need treatment but haven't been through the corrections system yet."

Thatcher said 80 percent to 90 percent of the inmates at the pre-release centers, transitional centers and juvenile detention centers that CCCS operates admit an addiction to meth, frequently in conjunction with other drugs and alcohol.

"People who need treatment either have to be able to pay for it privately or they won't get it without going to prison," he noted.

And it doesn't make sense to wait until the problem is so severe that a person has to be imprisoned, he added.

"From a taxpayer's standpoint, there are savings to providing those services earlier," Thatcher said. "You can either pay for it now or pay for it later, after years of a criminal lifestyle."

There's no clear picture of the unmet need for meth treatment, said Jackie Jandt of the state's Chemical Dependency Bureau.

She cited figures from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, which did household telephone surveys and estimated that 9.4 percent of Montana's population needed treatment for alcoholism in the past year and didn't receive it, while another 2.8 percent needed treatment for drug addiction in the past year and didn't receive it.

But she cautioned that those figures are probably understated. "Why would anyone admit to using illicit drugs to someone who called on the phone to ask?" she wondered.

So the message is clear to her.

"We're not even meeting basic treatment needs," said Jandt. "There are waiting lists for people who need to get into treatment for everything, including alcohol."

She also said health officials are learning that meth requires long-term treatment.

The health department equivalent to Nexus is the Montana Chemical Dependency Center in Butte, which doesn't focus on meth treatment.

"Alcohol continues to be the state's drug of choice so that's our focus, followed by pot and then by opiates, things like Oxycontin, cocaine, heroin and methadone," said MCDC Director Dave Peshek.

MCDC has done away with the standard 30-day treatment program and now keeps patients until they complete an individualized treatment plan.

"We plan for about 45 days of treatment, and our average length of stay is 38 days," said Peshek.

But MCDC has actually seen a decline in the number of meth addicts it has been treating, he said.

"It has dropped pretty significantly," Peshek said. "When we started, it used to be 22-23 percent of our clientele. Now it's down around 17-18 percent."

And he said success rates don't appear to be appreciably different for methamphetamine or other drugs.

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Lewistown treatment center to open
Great Falls Tribune, 5/29/07

Next week, Montana's first treatment center for methamphetamine — a $10 million, 80-bed facility — opens its doors.

"This is the first time in my correctional career that all parties have agreed that what we've been doing just isn't working, so we have to do something new," said Mike Thatcher, chief executive officer of Community Correctional and Counseling Services in Butte, whose agency will be running the treatment center.

Forty-four employees have been hired, and all but half a dozen have been successful in finding housing.

Employees of the Nexus Correctional Program have taxed the local housing market, program administrator Don Schroeder told the Fergus County Port Authority last week.

He also said CCCS has made a conscious effort to buy beds, desks, washers, dryers, cars and other items locally.

"We appreciate how much the community welcomed us, and we want to give back to the community as much as we can," treatment program director Joe Zigmund told the port authority.

It will also be a boon to the treatment community, said Roger Curtiss, clinical director for Gateway Recovery Center.

"All the programs CCCS runs, they do a good job with," Curtiss said.

The Nexus program will offer a highly structured, nine-month treatment program that strives to change a meth addict's thinking and lifestyle, Thatcher said.

"We'll be dealing with people who have intensively and extensively abused this drug, and the majority of the research suggests that they will be suffering greater cognitive defects," he said.

Structure is important because meth addicts tend not to have it, said Schroeder.

"They've been staying up all night, using crystal meth and alcohol, living moment to moment," Schroeder said. "This structure gives them a model for the way they're going to have to start living their lives responsibly."

Patients will be challenged to change the way they think, said Thatcher.

"We're trying to get folks to recognize that their thinking errors have put them where they're at," he said.

"We'll have to challenge them to put others first instead of themselves," agreed Schroeder. "Most of these guys coming in have lived a life of irresponsible thinking — whatever they wanted they were going to get."

Another aspect of the treatment will be reality therapy, said Thatcher.

"If people come in and think it's OK to continue their drug use, others in their group will challenge that thinking, question why that behavior is continuing, and suggest the probable outcomes of that drug use," said Schroeder.

Patients will spend several hours in group therapy six mornings a week, and several more in substance-abuse counseling.

Several hours in the afternoon will be devoted to specialty groups like domestic violence, anger management and grief and loss.

"With crystal meth, you pretty much destroy all the people around you," Schroeder said.

The program will also focus on job skills and life skills from doing laundry to going back to school.

"Parenting classes are critical because a lot of these people have kids and we want them to be responsible parents," Schroeder said.

About the only free time in the week will be Sunday afternoon, deliberately left open so families can visit.

After nine months of intensive learning, graduation will be a big deal.

"Most of these guys have met with failure in everything they have ever tried — school, family, relationships and jobs — so we celebrate all the successes we can," said Schroeder. "And we hope they'll be successful when they leave this program."

Graduation will be followed by six months in a prerelease center, Thatcher said.

"They'll be doing the whole nine yards over there," Curtiss said. "I don't know what they'll be doing with families, but that aspect has to be incorporated or they'll be setting people up to fail."

He noted that the Nexus program will give Montana a whole spectrum of care options:

·  Outpatient counseling at facilities like Gateway in Great Falls;

·  Limited inpatient treatment at facilities like Rimrock Mental Health Services in Billings;

·  The Nexus Correctional Program in Lewistown;

·  And the prison in Deer Lodge for meth addicts who don't change their behavior.

Thatcher said a strong family component will be built into the prerelease programs to allow former meth addicts to restore family ties.

"If in five years, we haven't achieved our objectives, they should take away our funding," he said. "But I think a lot of states are watching what we're doing, and when we're successful, other states will be adopting this program."

Schroeder said that building and opening the $10 million treatment facility has gone well. He said the only struggle has been to find housing for his 44 employees.

As of Wednesday, he still had six employees “who are homeless,” Schroeder said. He noted they have been staying in a house in Lewistown purchased by Community, Counseling and Correctional Services Inc., the Butte-based firm which will operate the state-funded center.

Some of the new employees are renting, he said, while others want to buy. But finding suitable houses to buy has been difficult.

Schroeder, who was accompanied to the meeting by Joe Zigmund, treatment program manager, and by Rick Barman, security director, thanked the Port Authority for its role in bringing the meth treatment center to Lewistown.

“We would like to have had a 12-month treatment program, or even 18 months, but nine months is a good starting point and we can see how that does,” said Zigmund. He noted that patients will spend nine months here and an additional six months in a pre-release center elsewhere before being released back into society.

After 15 months, officials think meth addicts should be ready to re-enter society. If not, there are provisions to keep the addicts in treatment longer, he said. He added that such long treatment programs are needed because crystal meth addiction is so severe.

Both Zigmund and Barman said security will be tight but the center will rely more on keeping the patients busy than on the high fence which surrounds the building. Barman, who said he has had eight years security experience in the prison system in North Dakota, said the men in the facility here will have almost no free time.

The only time the patients will leave the building is if they have to be taken to a hospital for treatment. Any time a patient leaves the facility he will be accompanied by two staff members, Schroeder said.

“They are not to be in front of TVs or playing games,” said Barman. “We will occupy their time. We want to open their eyes so they understand why it is that they have been doing what they have been doing.”

Zigmund said “this is Club Med to these guys. Their other choice is five years in prison. If we can make them comfortable they will open up.”

He said a lot of the men destined for the Lewistown facility grew up too fast and did not have childhoods. So they will have toys and things that make them feel like kids again. Treatment will occur seven days a week, Zigmund said.

Schroeder described the new building as “real nice.” Because of the comfort patients feel being in the building it should have a huge impact on those who receive treatment there, he said. He noted they will spend their entire nine months inside the building.

On June 1, 10 to 12 men will arrive to begin treatment. Another 10-12 will arrive each week following until by July, the 80 beds will be filled, Schroeder said. After that there will be a waiting list of those who want to get in. Because it is a nine-month treatment program, it may be nine months before there is space for someone to get in.

The new administrator said CCCS made every effort to buy everything locally. He said beds, desks, washers and driers, cars and other items were purchased from Lewistown merchants.

“We appreciate very much how the community welcomed us and we want to give back to the community as much as we can,” Zigmund said. “We would like to become a big part of the community.”

The University of Montana will conduct an outcome study which will take two or three years, Schroeder said. Because that institution is outside the correctional system, it will provide an honest report on how well patients do after treatment here.

“You always hear about those cases where treatment doesn’t work, but we believe treatment does work,” said Schroeder. He said other CCCS treatment facilities have a 72 to 75 percent success rate and the firm is shooting for 75 percent here.

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Mike Thatcher, chief executive officer of Community, Counseling and Correctional Services Inc., the Butte-based firm which built and will operate the center at the Lewistown Municipal Airport, said Don Schroeder will be the facility’s program administrator.

Thatcher said an open house and ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held at the center on Wednesday, May 30. Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D-Mont.) will head the list of dignitaries who plan to be on hand for the ceremony, Thatcher said.

The 80-bed residential treatment facility is scheduled to take its first offenders on June 1. The program will serve adult male offenders and will include a comprehensive array of correctional programming and services, he said.

Schroeder will be relocating to Lewistown later this month from Statesboro, Ga., where he previously worked as the clinical director of the Savannah Area Behavioral Health Collaborative.

Schroeder received his bachelor of science degree in psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana and his master’s degree in clinical psychology from the University of Illinois in Springfield.

He is currently pursuing a second master’s degree in health services administration. He has published several papers and presented at numerous conferences, Thatcher said.

Guests of honor at the open house and ribbon cutting ceremony, in addition to the governor, will include Mike Ferriter, director of the Department of Corrections, Sen. Jim Peterson (R-Buffalo) and other community leaders who were instrumental in bringing the $10 million center to Lewistown.

Local business and civic leaders are pleased about the planned opening of the meth treatment center. This is something several have worked on for years.

Bret Carpenter, vice chairman of the Fergus County Port Authority, was among those instrumental in bringing the meth treatment center to Lewistown.

“Time goes quickly. All of a sudden here it is coming,” said Carpenter. “What started out four years ago, now it is reality. They (CCCS) have done everything they said they would to this point.

“They made an investment here, they bought a house here and they are giving every indication they want to be a long-term partner in the community. They are paying for more of the infrastructure (water and sewer) at the airport than planned. They didn’t have to do it.

“There’s a lot of talk in community on the employment side, the jobs, the benefits. There may be a chance to grow this business if our community wants it.”

Lewistown City Manager Kevin Myhre was another who helped bring the meth center to Lewistown. He said, “It is a great feeling to see it coming to completion.”

Myhre said the meth center will benefit the economy and bring jobs to the community.

“It is a great accomplishment for the Port Authority and will be a benefit for Central Montana,” Myhre said. He said he heard that 14 families will be moving to Lewistown because of the meth center, “and that means more children in our schools, more people buying things in Lewistown.”

The city manager said he is aware that the influx of this many people will add to the city’s housing crunch. But, he said, for there to be investment in more subdivisions and more housing there has to be a shortage like this. He said eventually housing will catch up with the need.

One provision of the meth treatment center proposal was that a community panel would be established to review offenders who will be brought here. The purpose was to be sure that individuals who might be a danger to the community would not be brought here.

“I have not heard who will be members of the community panel to screen people coming here,” said Carpenter. “I know they want a cross section from the community, law enforcement, probation, Port Authority members, others.”

Thatcher said he has filled most of the 44 positions available at the center. He said he could not announce the others at this point because some still have to make arrangements with their current employers to make the move here.

Carpenter said he had heard that several in Lewistown got jobs at the center.

Thatcher said Schroeder’s duties will include coordination of the local screening committee to ensure that clients are suitable for this type of treatment, managing the staff at the facility, educating the community and the state about the Nexus program and many other duties ensuring that the clients receive the best treatment possible.

In an interview by phone on Thursday, Schroeder said he is “looking forward to the challenge and I’m excited to have a new staff coming in.

“It’s very exciting for me. I’m originally from a town of 350 people south of Chicago. I flew up to Lewistown about a month ago. It was warmer in Lewistown than in Savannah, when I went there.

“I don’t expect to have trouble adjusting to life in Montana. I’m an outdoors person. I love to hunt and fish,” Schroeder said.

Thatcher said, “Schroeder is looking forward to the challenge of opening the new program, training the new staff and ensuring that quality treatment is delivered to the clients, all the while adjusting to life in Montana.”

The CCCS chief said the type of treatment anticipated at the Lewistown center “focuses on multi-dimensional/holistic change in the areas of abstinence, social responsibility, right living and moral development.

“Traits that are emphasized in the therapeutic community model are honesty, personal responsibility and accountability, economic self-reliance, community involvement and good citizenship.”

Thatcher praised Gov. Schweitzer and the 2005 Montana Legislature for having the “farsightedness” to approve and fund the center. He also saluted Sen. Peterson for introducing the bill that resulted in approval of state meth treatment in such a center.

“Without Peterson’s bill and support from both sides of the legislative aisle we wouldn’t be one step closer to addressing the devastating and costly effects associated with meth addiction,” Thatcher said.

He also noted that the center would not have come to Lewistown without the encouragement and support of the people of Lewistown. He said several groups were instrumental in bringing the facility to Lewistown including the Port Authority, the Lewistown Airport Board, Snowy Mountain Development Corp. and city and county officials.

“We would like to welcome the citizens of Montana to the grand opening and ribbon cutting. There will be tours of the new facility as well as refreshments served throughout the day,” said Thatcher.

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Meth treatment centers welcome and needed
Great Falls Tribune - 4/11/07

While the 2007 Legislature in Helena wrestles with conflicting views over budgets, taxes and just about everything else, one of the fruits of the 2005 session became a reality on Tuesday.

It's the Elkhorn Treatment Center, the Corrections Department's new, 40-bed facility for treating women convicted of methamphetamine-related crimes.

The scheduled arrival Tuesday of the first residents of the center marks a significant development in the way Montana deals with people addicted to meth.

Thanks to the giant ad campaign of the Montana Meth Project and its chief benefactor, Tom Siebel, the state has for a couple of years now sought to address the front end of the meth epidemic by educating people — mostly young people — about the perils of using meth even one time.

With the opening of the Elkhorn Center in Boulder and a larger men's facility coming in June to Lewistown, the state begins to address the other end of the problem, the person already addicted to the illegal, dangerous and widely available drug.

Up until now, much of the blame for a burgeoning prison population in Montana — including at the regional detention center on Gore Hill — has been put on meth.

Further, meth-addicted inmates tend to have more medical problems than the general inmate population, and they have a higher tendency to offend again.

In short, it had become apparent that simply locking up meth addicts was not a rational long-term solution to the problem.

Convinced by data showing that intensive treatment programs succeed where more conventional corrections programs do not, the 2005 Legislature authorized creation of the treatment centers.

There was an open house at Elkhorn Monday, and the first six residents were scheduled to arrive there Tuesday.

About 20 staff members there have been trained, and the facility will handle up to 40 residents at a time.

A typical treatment program will include nine months at the center followed by six months at a pre-release center.

Staff members at the 80-bed men's facility under construction in Lewistown expect to receive their first residents June 1. An open house is set there May 30.

In a related development in Helena, funding for treatment courts, which will work in tandem with the new treatment centers, remained in the state budget as of Tuesday; we hope lawmakers will keep it there and give a fair chance to this new approach to a growing problem.

It's important to remember in this discussion that the treatment approach to meth and other addiction problems saves money in the long run.

An estimated 15,000 people turned out for the celebration, many of whom undoubtedly drank more beer than they should have, but there was only one felony arrest for the whole weekend.

A man threw a beer can at a police officer, but fortunately the officer wasn’t seriously injured.

The ingenious idea was to avoid creating an us-them-type relationship with the crowd. Rather than regularly drive patrol cars through the swarms of visitors in the streets, police switched to foot patrols this year and mingled with the revelers. They volunteered to take photos; they chatted up the crowds, building good will and positive energy during the sunny daylight hours that no doubt came in handy when darkness fell and they faced the difficult task of dispersing drunken groups who didn’t necessarily want the party to end.

The idea for this new approach came from the officers themselves, who suggested that mingling would help to ease tensions.

“We were doing things differently to see how it would work and obviously it did,” Sheriff John Walsh told The Standard on Monday. “It definitely took the edge off of some of it. You talk to people rather than talk at them and it really does help.” Great job, police officers, for coming up with a new approach and pulling it off with finesse. Thanks, too, to the highway patrolmen who assisted. Walsh said the local officers couldn’t have handled that large a crowd without your reinforcements. We were doing things differently to see how it would work and obviously it did,” Sheriff John Walsh told The Standard on Monday. “It definitely took the edge off of some of it. You talk to people rather than talk at them and it really does help.” Great job, police officers, for coming up with a new approach and pulling it off with finesse. Thanks, too, to the highway patrolmen who assisted. Walsh said the local officers couldn’t have handled that large a crowd without your reinforcements.

Walsh praised his entire department — including administrative people, detention center staff, and dispatchers — for doing a commendable job working an extraordinarily busy (and probably dreaded) weekend. Even though there were no real serious incidents, still about 90 people were arrested for minor misdemeanors.

And thanks as well to the Butte Pre-Release Center’s clean-up crews, along with the public works department and Mainstreet Butte. Streets lined with beer cans and garbage were again looking decent by Sunday, and hopefully all that aluminum made it to a recycling center. Uptown bars only served cans and plastic cups, which was a smart idea. In future years, glass should be banned from the Uptown altogether if possible to cut down on the mess.

There won’t be another celebration like St. Patrick’s Day 2007 until at least 2013 when the holiday will again fall on a Saturday. And if the weather forecast is sunny and warm, organizers should order up twice as many Porta-Potties and at least that many more garbage cans. And remember, you can ask a police officer to snap a quick photo to capture the moment. He or she will gladly oblige.

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Our Readers Speak: Parole board responds to recent letter
The Montana Standard - 3/20/07

Carolyn Reed, mother of a Montana State Prison inmate, recently wrote a letter to the editor alleging her son has been treated unfairly by the state Board of Pardons and Parole.

First, let me clarify the board’s role. Parole is a privilege earned and not a right of prisoners. The board’s primary responsibility in making decisions is public safety. The law says the board may release any person when the board believes the person is able and willing to fulfill the obligations of a law-abiding citizen and when the board believes the prisoner can be released without detriment to the prisoner or the community.

In this case, Reed’s son was granted parole on Oct. 31, 2006, upon completion of a second treatment cycle at the six-month WATCh program, which is specifically designed to treat felony DUI offenders and has a tremendous success rate. If he chooses to cooperate, he can be released prior to the expiration of his sentence, which is July 6, 2008. If not, he will be released when his term expires.

He was required to complete WATCh a second time because of his record. He is serving a five-year sentence for felony DUI. This is his second conviction for a fourth or subsequent drunken-driving offense. He also has a prior felony conviction for possession of a weapon, and 14 traffic and misdemeanor convictions.

The board carefully considered the circumstances leading to his current incarceration. Since 1998, Reed’s son has been given three opportunities to correct his behavior and become a law-abiding citizen who does not pose a danger to others. He failed each time. The determination that he needed a second term in the WATCh program was based on his multiple felony drunken-driving convictions. The board did not “enhance” his sentence or rescind the offer of parole, as Reed states. The board’s decision was based on the history of her son’s behavior.

The board is not “robbing” taxpayers or causing a crowded prison system. The board is doing its part, following appropriate laws, releasing deserving offenders to community placements and keeping undeserving or dangerous prisoners incarcerated.

During the past five years, the Board has released 2,854 offenders to parole supervision, including a record 635 in 2006. In that same time, 694 paroled offenders have successfully completed their sentences in the community. The board has approved parole for nearly six out of 10 offenders appearing before it.

I believe the board’s record speaks for itself, as does Reed’s son’s.

Craig Thomas
Executive Director
Montana Board of Pardons and Parole
300 Maryland Ave.
Deer Lodge, Montana

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CCCS gets OK on youth home
The Montana Standard - 2/21/07

County commissioners approved a measure Tuesday allowing a Butte-based group to move forward with plans to take over a cash-strapped youth home here.

The Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Commission unanimously approved a resolution allowing the county to lease the Discovery House building at 800 S. Main St. to Community Counseling and Correctional Services.

“This is a good deal, and this is something Anaconda should be proud to have,” Commissioner Pete Lorello said.

County legal staff has yet to draft the lease terms, but the county will likely let CCCS use the building for $1 a year, county Chief Executive Officer Rebecca Guay said.

If all goes as planned, CCCS will take over Discovery House for three years, maintaining existing services and staff, said the home’s director Carole Kovacich.

“I will run the program here as far as the house is concerned,” she said.

Founded 32 years ago by a Catholic nun, Discovery House has nine beds for troubled youth, who arrive there from a variety of circumstances. While the home has long struggled to balance its books, it fell deeply into financial trouble last November.

CCCS’s intervention is the home’s only chance for survival, Kovacich said.

CCCS is a non-profit organization that runs private corrections and rehabilitation facilities across Montana, including the Butte Pre-Release. The organization contracts with the state and federal governments to house inmates.

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Youth home finds backer
The Montana Standard - 02/14/07

A glimmer of hope for Discovery House, a cash-strapped home for troubled youth, has arrived in the form of Butte-based Community Counseling and Correctional Services, officials said Tuesday.

“They’re interested in helping us,” said Carole Kovacich, director of the 32-year-old non-profit organization that fell into dire financial straits in November. “We need to go with somebody or it’s not going to be here.”

Kovacich asked the Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Commission Tuesday to lease the nine-bed Discovery House building — on South Main Street behind the county courthouse — to CCCS. The organization operates treatment and correctional facilities, including the Butte Pre-Release Center.

“I’m cautiously optimistic it’s going to happen,” Mike Thatcher, CCCS’s administrator, said in a phone interview Tuesday night. “We think it falls within our mission. In our opinion, it’s a critically needed service.” In coming weeks, county staff will draft a lease and present it to commissioners for a vote, Chief Executive Rebecca Guay said.

While Discovery House has always struggled financially, it fell deeply into the red this winter, partly because the cost of housing kids far exceeds the state’s reimbursement rate, Kovacich said.

Pleas for financial help brought in $20,000 from the community, but it would take far more to keep Discovery House operating.

“Without CCCS’s intervention, the home will not likely survive,” said Kovacich, who wears several hats at the home. “I’m getting older, and I don’t have the energy I used to have, but I want Discovery House to stay here.”

Her desperation reached beyond Anaconda, to Marko Lucich, executive director of the Butte Chamber of Commerce and a former probation officer. After learning Discovery House’s situation, Lucich set up a meeting between Kovacich and Thatcher.

Her desperation reached beyond Anaconda, to Marko Lucich, executive director of the Butte Chamber of Commerce and a former probation officer. After learning Discovery House’s situation, Lucich set up a meeting between Kovacich and Thatcher.

“Discovery House is very important for kids in the Butte and Anaconda area,” Lucich said in a phone interview. Also, he said, the 13 jobs Discovery House provides are important to the local economy.

If CCCS takes over, existing employees would keep their jobs, but would receive better pay and benefits than currently, Thatcher said. The size and focus of Discovery House also would stay the same, he said.

His organization has the resources, experiences and connections to market and manage Discovery House until it reaches financial stability, he said.

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A success story
The Montana Standard - 1/28/07

CCCS starts with one program and 13 employees 23 years ago; and now it boasts 11 services with 450 employees

Josh Lefthand says he’s finally learned the value of staying sober.

Unfortunately, it took his seventh drunken driving charge to learn that lesson.

Lefthand, of Polson, is one of several people with multiple driving-under-the-influence offenses being treated at the WATCh facility at Warm Springs.

It is one of 11 programs in the region operated by the Community, Counseling, and Correctional Services Inc., or CCCS, headquartered in Butte.

The private, non-profit CCCS started in Butte 24 years ago. Its diverse programs house and treat offenders with drug- and alcohol-related convictions, prepare inmates to be released from prison, and deal with troubled juveniles, among other services.

CCCS Chief Executive Officer Mike Thatcher would consider Lefthand one of the WATCh’s success stories.

After his seventh DUI arrest, Lefthand was facing more than a year in prison. On Friday, after six months in WATCh, Lefthand was four days away from being released. He said the program helped him change his life.

“I know I’m an alcoholic, I know it’s a disease. But I’ve learned here that I have a choice not to put that stuff in my body,” he said.

Economic impact

Other CCCS programs continue to grow, including the six programs it operates in southwestern Montana. This includes the Butte Pre-release Center.

The center, located at 68 W. Broadway St. in Uptown Butte, was CCCS’s first program, initiated in December 1983. CCCS has since expanded operations in Butte to include the Women’s Transitional Center in 1992 and the Connections Corrections Program in 1998.

CCCS also has facilities in Washington and North Dakota.

Over the years, the CCCS has made a significant impact on the regional economy, Thatcher said. The group’s six local programs employ about 350 people in Butte, Anaconda and Deer Lodge, he said. Overall, CCCS has about 450 employees, according to its Web site.

“The lion’s share of our employees are Butte people,” Thatcher said.

The programs have also been responsible for purchasing an estimate of $6.9 million in local goods and services in the last fiscal year, according to records provided by the CCCS.

Thatcher said the programs generated about $20 million last year.

The pre-release and transitional centers take qualified adult men and women inmates out of prison and give them a chance to serve a shorter sentence. The centers provide a less institutionalized environment and offenders are allowed temporary leave to work.

“The idea of the center is to prepare offenders for the outside world,” Thatcher said.

Employers’ response Bud Walker, owner of the M&M Cigar Store, a historic bar and cafe at 9 N. Main St., said he’s been employing workers from the pre-release center for years. Not only have these people worked well for him, Walker said they have been essential to his business.

“We need them. There are times where we couldn’t function without them,” Walker said.

The Montana Standard hires pre-release inmates in its packaging department. Publisher Janet Taylor said the pre-release hirees come already screened for drugs, which “is really convenient for us.” Packaging department employees work around heavy equipment in the wee hours of the morning, and being drug-free is integral to the job and its safety requirements, she said.

Walker said he often needs them when one of his regular employees fails to show up for work. He said center officials are accommodating to his needs.

“If I call right now, I can have somebody down here in 15 minutes,” he said.

The walk-aways

Thatcher said offenders, with permission, may leave the center to work, but must return after their shift ends.

Sometimes offenders don’t always follow the rules. Thatcher said “walk-aways” are rare, but acknowledged that sometimes happens. The most recent two walk-aways were captured shortly after leaving the center and face felony escape charges.

Thatcher said those who violate the CCCS rules take the chance of returning to prison.

“Offenders are held accountable here (at the center). Some people think you go to pre-release and smoke dope and hangout, but we have zero tolerance for any violations,” he said.

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CCCS programs continue to expand
The Montana Standard - 1/28/07

Stemming from a small office in Butte over two decades ago, Community, Counseling and Correctional Services Inc. has since expanded its operations throughout the Northwest.

The CCCS contracts include those with the Montana Department of Corrections and Federal Bureau of Prisons.

CCCS started in 1983 in Butte with one facility, and has expanded to 11 programs, including facilities in Washington and North Dakota.

And they continue to grow, according to CCCS Chief Executive Officer Mike Thatcher.

“The need for this type of service is huge,” he said.

A brief overview of CCCS programs: