State leaders are working with law enforcement in a southern Indiana county to help inmates fight drug addiction.
The Jail Chemical Addiction Program, or J-CAP, comes from a $60,000 grant given to Scott County from the Office of Indiana’s Attorney General.
Inmates seeking recovery help will live in a separate pod of the jail, have a community that will help with recovery, and go through a step-by-step program with a mental health professional.
Sheriff Jerry Goodin says the support will continue once they’re released.
"It’s an intensive addiction therapy, while they’re serving their sentences in jail," he says. "They’re actually not just sitting in jail doing nothing they’re actually getting training while they’re in jail—exactly what jail should be for."
Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill says the program is already active in a few other jails across the state, and says the program has already lowered recidivism rates.
"We want Indiana to be the toughest place to commit a crime, but the best place to get a second opportunity for success," Hill says.
Officials say the program will be up and running by the first of the year.
CORRECTION: This story has been updated to correct a misspelling of Jerry Goodin's name.
