West Virginia is starting its first inpatient treatment program in a regional jail.
The residential substance abuse treatment unit, located at the Southwestern Regional Jail in Logan County, will hold up to 28 inmates and opens Monday.
The Division of Corrections already operates residential substance abuse treatment units at nine of the state's prisons, but this will be the first unit at one of the state's jails. The unit will solely serve inmates who have been sentenced to the custody of the Division of Corrections, which runs the state's prisons. Numerous inmates who have been sentenced to Corrections custody are housed in regional jails because of prison overcrowding.
"This will greatly accelerate their ability to begin the crucial journey of recovery and rehabilitation that can, it is hoped, restore them to a productive and healthy life outside the correctional setting," David Farmer, executive director of the Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority, said in a statement. "Being able to begin treatment earlier will also allow them to hasten their eligibility for parole, thus addressing both the needs of inmates and their families and the issue of overcrowding."
The Division of Corrections will staff and administer the treatment unit.
"This 28-bed treatment unit will provide a badly needed tool to assist inmates with substance abuse addictions prepare for their eventual return to society, and hopefully serve as a blueprint for additional jail-based units in the near future," Commissioner of Corrections Jim Rubenstein said in a statement. "Executive Director Farmer and his staff have worked closely with Division of Corrections staff to make this unit a reality. These offenders are being provided with the opportunity to make a positive change in their lives, the lives of their families and loved ones and their communities."