Contracts between the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office and Bowen Health approved by the county commissioners Tuesday will allow for jail inmates to receive therapy while incarcerated.
Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Chris McKeand asked the commissioners for their approval for the two service agreements with Bowen Health, formerly Bowen Center.
“They’re both going to be surrounding the approval of the (county) opioid committee for the peer recovery coaches and the therapy back in the Kosciusko County Jail (KCJ) that revolves around the recovery program,” he said.
The first agreement with Bowen Health is for $45,000 per year for a peer recovery coach to be embedded in the KCJ for the Community Recovery Program (CRP).
After that contract was approved, McKeand presented the second one, for $26,000 per year, which is for therapeutic programs in the jail to be provided by Bowen Health.
“Their therapist would come in and, through the program itself, they would go into individual therapies and group therapies,” McKeand said. “This is a program that we’re developing. It’s in development right now. The talks continue. One of the things that’s changed since this agreement was brought to you, we actually spoke to them and they’re willing to do the group therapies for a set fee for the group, which will bring down the individual costs per inmate and that will be reflected once all of that is finalized.”
The commissioners unanimously approved that contract as well.
After the commissioners meeting, McKeand said the CRP has the resource navigator, Shanna Wallen, in place and she’s doing a great job.
“But the next piece in it is the actual peer recovery piece, so we need the peer recovery coaches back in the jail, and through the opioid (settlement) money, we got approved to actually embed two peer recovery coaches back in the jail. So what you heard today was the service agreements to enter into an agreement with Bowen Center to actually embed one of those peer recovery coaches. And then beyond that, we have a program we’re putting in place with the Bowen Center where they will actually come in and do a one-on-one therapy sessions and group therapy sessions with the inmates to try to alleviate some of the problems we have with substance abuse,” McKeand explained.
The therapy sessions will encompass substance abuse and mental health. Since the funding comes from the opioid settlement, most of it has to do with substance abuse, but there are programs going in place that will also deal with issues like anger management, domestic violence and others.
Sheriff Jim Smith said, “The peer recovery coaches are being used across the state, and that’s what they’re finding is actually working and resonating with these folks that are trying to get on the other side of addiction, is to hear from those that are actively in recovery.”
He said he could read from a textbook about why a person should or should not do certain things, but what really hits home for those trying to recover from addiction is to hear from those who have already achieved it and are actively in recovery.
“And it’s twofold because it’s just as beneficial for those coaches because they found a new passion and a new purpose, if you will, and to continue to thrive for success. It’s neat to see it all come to fruition and it’ll start in the jail, but it’ll continue to be there for after they’re released - another person to walk that walk with them. Certainly, not doing it for them,” Smith said. “To reiterate, it’s a hand up rather than a hand out. And when you put it in perspective like that, this only works for those that are willing to receive it. So, a hand up we’ll do all day and help you, but we can’t do it for you.”
For an inmate to take part in the therapy sessions, McKeand said they have to ask for it. He said the program’s through the resource navigator, who is in contact with the inmate population. She determines their willingness to change something in their life moving forward to change their outcome.
“They actually enter into the program. They have a questionnaire that they fill out saying that they want to participate, that they want to step forward and they want to change something in their life,” he said.
For each individual, that’s going to be something different. There’s no criteria for them to meet. What the inmates are asked to do is to want to make changes in their lifes. The jail is putting the programs and people in place so that if an inmate truly wants to make a change, they can do it.
“It’s still up to them to do it. We’re just giving them the ability to participate, giving them the tools to actually make those things happen,” McKeand said.
He couldn’t say how far the $26,000 will go as far as therapy sessions, but Bowen Health has been really cooperative in how much they’re going to be willing to come into the jail and offer the sessions. On the group sessions, McKeand said Bowen Health originally talked about billing per participant, but then changed that to billing per session, which will reduce the cost greatly.
“It’s a big help to us, but that’s a big olive branch by the Bowen Center to say that they’re going to do that. It’s definitely a cooperative effort,” McKeand said.
All throughout the CRP as it moves forward, he said they’re trying to gather information to show that it’s worthwhile that the county fund it.
“It’s an effective solution to have this program in place. A lot of benchmarks go with that. Our jail population is one - tracking how often people are returning to our facility, reducing that would be huge,” McKeand said. “If you truly keep those people off of those substances, it will reduce crime out in the community because what we’re finding is, the drug use is driving a lot of our crime. So, you tackle one, it’ll have positive effects in other places, too. That’s the hope.”