October 1, 2021 |
The first half-dozen participants in a new program at the Wyoming State Prison in Rawlins for young people in trouble with the law will graduate this month. The legislature approved three new statutes earlier this year abandoning the old “boot camp” program. In its place, lawmakers established the Youthful Offender Transition Program. The intensive rehabilitation program began on June 28th.
Lt. Mary Mayer is part of the security team at the prison. Lt. Mayer said participants are housed separately from the general population. By the end of October, the first six youthful offenders will have completed the program successfully, and will transition to the outside world.
Offenders are court appointed. By statute, they must be under the age of 30. The three-phase program is designed to last at least 180 days, and cannot extend past one year from the sentencing date without written approval from the sentencing court.
The first phase is “Early Intervention and Contemplation.” The second is “Intensive treatment.” The third is “Re-Entry Preparation.” Mayer said participants form a community as they work together and individually to achieve their rehabilitation goals.
The lieutenant said there have been no major discipline problems. Programming includes physical fitness, health living habits, education, vocational services, behavioral interventions and professional substance use treatment. In the therapeutic world, a comprehensive approach such as this is regarded as treating the whole person. The program is structured, but it’s not militaristic as the term “boot camp” implied and emphasized.
Paul Martin with the Department of Corrections has worked at prisons in several states. He said the “boot camp” concept is being abandoned by corrections systems across the nation because it was not producing measurable success. Recidivism was high. Martin rejected the idea that YOTP is a form of “coddling criminals.”
Lt. Mayer’s description of YOTP in action at the prison lends credence to that old prison warden’s logic. Participants are not “doing time” as much as helping each other break with past behaviors and thinking patterns that got them into trouble. As they work through program, they develop a sense of team camaraderie.
As in any family or community, a hierarchy forms. When new offenders enter the program, veterans assume the role of mentors. Since the treatment plan and each of the programming elements are based on positive behavioral changes, mentoring by the veterans in the group becomes an important part of achieving successful outcomes.
The economics of this new prison model are self-evident. Less inmate warehouse time and better outcomes for mean taxpayers save money. The hope is that their communities are ultimately safer, too.
YOTP was one of the alternatives that was born out of the crisis at the state prison a few years ago. Major infrastructure problems were making sections of the penitentiary uninhabitable. Large groups of inmates had to be shipped out state Repair costs and long-term projections forced the legislature to look into other ways operate the prison system in Wyoming with an eye on reducing costs. As drugs became more prevalent in Wyoming communities, courts were handing down more prison sentences. The overall costs of the penal system were rising. In some ways, the system was at a breaking point.
Martin said the program offers judges and courts an alternative way to treat non-violent offenders.
The program is the result of changes implemented this year as result of Wyoming Statutes 7-13-1001, 1002 and 1003 that creates a provision for young offenders to be given special consideration. Although the program is new it’s highly regarded by officials in the Department of Corrections. We asked if a similar program exists for women.
In addition to the behavioral programming elements of the treatment, the Youthful Offender Transition Program also offers a vocational component for those with high school diplomas to facilitate the return to the outside. The first six graduates from YOTP will make that transition later this month.
