Published: April 26, 2006 10:53 pm         

Meth treatment program graduates first female inmates

After receiving her graduation certificate, Denise Miller wiped her eyes with emotion.

Miller was one of the 48 inmates at the Rockville Correctional Facility who graduated Wednesday from the methamphetamine unit, the first graduation of its kind in the nation.

“I knew it was going to be long, but I didn’t know how intense it was going to be,” said Miller, 39, of Evansville, surrounded by family members after the ceremony. “My family is a lot closer now that I’ve resolved some issues. I left all my baggage at the gate.”

The inmates finished a nine-month therapeutic program called Clean Lifestyle is Freedom Forever, which is designed to rehabilitate meth addicts. The program is voluntary for offenders, who are eligible if they have a history of substance abuse that involves meth, have a record of good conduct behind bars and a projected release date no more than two years away.

Inmates who complete the program can receive a six-month sentence reduction.

The program, known by its acronym “CLIFF,” began in Miami Correctional Facility last April and later expanded to the Wabash Correctional Facility. It began at the Rockville Correctional Facility in September 2005 and is the only women’s prison in the state to offer the program.

“I’ve learned a whole new outlook on life,” said Jenni Howard, 29, of Elkhart. Her face was beaming after the ceremony, with traces of tears in her eyes. “I am a whole different person inside.”

“I just want to get her home,” said her mother, Goldie Howard. She had not seen her daughter for 14 months, she said.

Gov. Mitch Daniels delivered the graduation address and urged the women, who were dressed in white T-shirts, khaki pants and white athletic shoes, to be leaders and live a life of purpose. Their faces were unmistakably happy and proud.

“I want to tell you how hard we are rooting for you and how much we care about you,” Daniels said. “You’ve already showed us you were determined to show a life of purpose, a life of success, and we are all behind you.”

Since this is the first graduating class for the program, corrections officials do not have statistics showing the effectiveness of the program. Robert Huckabee, associate professor in criminology at Indiana State University, will help the Indiana Department of Correction track offenders to determine its effectiveness.

Before introducing Daniels as speaker, IDOC Commissioner J. David Donahue stated that if the CLIFF program is not successful, the state will not continue the program.

While speaking to the inmate graduates, Daniels expressed optimism that the program will work.

“Looking at you, I am convinced it will work and you will not have to come back,” he said. “You are pioneers, leaders, in a cause that must succeed.”

Anjanette West, speaking on behalf of her fellow CLIFF graduates, thanked staff members who have spent hours helping them.

“The tools gained in the program are the greatest of assets but only if we work them,” she said. “They’ve given us new ways to approach difficult situations. We should always picture recovery first because without recovery, nothing else will matter.”

Many of the offenders said the program helped them figure out why they began to take drugs in the first place and helped them resolve inner issues.

“You watch people change,” said inmate Victoria Fitch, 38, of Bloomington. “It really is a miracle.”

Joanne Hammer can be reached at (812) 231-4214 or joanne.hammer@tribstar.com.