The Connections Corrections Program (CCP) is a comprehensive, community-based correctional program designed to serve the unique needs of the Montana correctional population who are chemicaly dependent. The program provides clients with a full-range of treatment services focusing not only on the chemical dependency issue of each individual, but also the underlying behavioral and dysfunctional thinking patterns which contribute to or sustain chemical use and result in criminal behavior.
Community, Counseling, and Correctional Services, Inc. (CCCS) in partnership with the Montana Department of Corrections (MDOC), opened CCP in March 1998 in response to the growing segment of the Montana correctional population who are chemically dependent. At that time, CCP had a 30-bed capacity. CCP has been expanded to include 52 state beds in Butte having a consistent waiting list of 100 to 150 offenders. CCP also opened another 42 state beds plus 10 sanction beds—all for men—for a total of 52-beds at the Connections Corrections West facility located in Warm Springs, Montana.
CCP is based on the intensive outpatient model and is structured to meet the individual needs of clients for a period of up to 90 days.
CCP provides clients with the education and insight into their disease and maladaptive behaviors so they may integrate these skills and information into their daily lives. Through this process, and intensive programming, we have established the following program goals:
- Promote public safety by offering a milieu of programs and services for adult offenders in or entering local communities;
- Provide programs and services that assist eligible offenders with their transition from prison into the community;
- Provide an alternative to prison for those offenders who do not pose a significant threat to public safety and whose correctional programming and treatment needs could be best served by community placement;
- Provide an alternative to probation for those offenders who do not pose a significant threat to public safety and who require greater programming structure and monitoring than can be offered through probation;
- Meet the supervision and control needs of adult offenders in a community-based correctional setting;
- Establish and maintain a continuum of programming through formal and informal links to other human service and correctional agencies.
The Connections Corrections Program is a highly structured, ninety (90) day cognitive-behavioral based Intensive Residential Treatment Center, that incorporates addiction counseling, thinking errors counseling, cognitive principles and restructuring, victimization counseling, anger management counseling, in conjunction with a strong emphasis in relapse prevention for the criminal offender.
Correctional programming and treatment staff have established the folowing objectives to enable CCP to best achieve program goals:
- Provide clients with a primary counselor responsible for development and constant assessment of an individualized treatment and correctional programming plan;
- Provide clients with a highly-structured treatment and therapeutic environment that includes programming from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. 6 days a week;
- Provide clients with at least 18 hours of group therapy weekly;
- Provide clients with at least 1 hour of individual counseling weekly;
- Provide clients with at least 6.25 hours of criminal thinking errors programming weekly;
- Provide at least 7.5 hours of educational lectures weekly;
- Provide at least 1 hour of Big Book study weekly;
- Provide at least 7 hours of Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous (AA/NA) meetings weekly;
- Provide a balance of other programming — anger management, parenting, women-specific programming, Native American and culturally-sensitive groups — so as to best meet the unique needs of each client;
- Provide clients the opportunity to practice their spirituality and religion of choice;
- Provide clients with at least 1 hour of supervised recreation per day;
- Provide family involvement in treatment and correctional programming that includes weekly visitation and family-specific lectures and groups.
CCP staff review the effectiveness of correctional programming and treatment services through a process of continual quality assurance and total quality management. Feedback is gathered from clients, staff, and referring agencies.
The CCP is designed to serve the following types of adult male offenders:
- Intensive Supervision Probationers (ISP) and Parolees violating the conditions of their parole plans to a level that would cause them to return to prison;
- Offenders at the Montana State Prison (MSP) who are mandated by the Board of Pardons and Parole to complete chemical dependency programming prior to release;
- Offenders at MSP who are court-ordered to complete chemical dependency programming prior to release;
- Offenders participating in pre-release programs who violate as a result of chemical use;
- Offenders referred by U.S. federal probation officials.
The CCP is NOT designed to serve the following types of adult male offenders:
- Offenders with sex-related crimes;
- Offenders with history of violent crime. However, each offender is considered on a case-by-case basis.
- Offenders who have serious medical or mental health problems that would prohibit or significantly limit participation in correctional programming and chemical dependency treatment. Again, offenders are considered on a case-by-case basis. The local screening committee considers many factors including the following: 1) Nature and number of offenses; 2) Previous community placements; 3) Behavior at other institutions; 4) Desire to change and motivation to participate in programming; 5) Medical or psychological limitation that could prevent participation in the program.
Accepting responsibility and ownership for the cost of treatment services is not only reasonable but therapeutic as well. Therefore, clients are expected to contribute to the cost of their treatment. A daily charge of $7.00 will be assessed to each client. Inability to pay for services does not automatically preclude a client from participating in Connections Corrections Programming.
A dedicated team of staff distinguished by both education and experience provide services at CCP. CCCS carefully selected a diverse, professional staff to ensure that clients receive the most milieu of correctional programming and chemical dependency treatment services.
Referrals to CCP are only made by the Montana Department of Corrections or the Federal Probation system. once a referral is received, the CCCS staff and local screening committee will review the appropriate paperwork (usually within two weeks of receipt) and determine the applicant's suitability for the program. This screening committee consists of a four member voluntary contingency from the professional community, including a representative from local law enforcement, state adult probation and parole, medical, mental health area, and the Program Administrator.
| Name: | Jeni Nichols |
| Title: | Program Administrator |
| Address: | 111 West Broadway |
| Butte, MT 59701 | |
| Phone: | 406-782-6626 ext. 302 |
| E-mail: | jnichols@cccscorp.com |