Press Releases

IOP to Graduate Seven

Monday, October 1, 2007

The Lafayette Parish Community Corrections Center announces the graduation of the first class in the Day Reporting Intensive Outpatient Program. The graduation will be held at the Community Corrections Center located at 100 Poydras Street in Lafayette on October 4 during the regularly scheduled group sessions (1:30p & 6:00p).

Graduates have successfully completed the 90-day program, which entails group sessions four times a week and individual sessions at least once a week. These graduates will now enter yearlong aftercare and provide mentoring and sponsorship to future DRIOP participants. This involvement with the program enables the individual to receive continual support and allows the participant to become embedded with his recovery and the program.

The DRIOP began in June 2007 and enrollment is at capacity with a waiting list of applicants. This program is the only IOP operating out of a correctional facility in the state of Louisiana. Seven individuals will graduate in this first class.

The DRIOP is for recovering addicts and is available to anyone who has been incarcerated in the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center or surrounding parishes. Research suggests that substance abuse programs for offenders are greatly needed and provide an effective alternative to incarceration. The Bureau of Justice Statistics released data stating that more than two-thirds of jail inmates were found to be dependent on or to abuse alcohol or drugs. According to a survey conducted by the Office of Justice Programs / Corrections Program Office, approximately 70-percent of all State prison inmates are in need of substance abuse treatment. Upon release, only one-third will receive needed treatment.

The DRIOP is funded by the Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office and provides much needed treatment services and follow-up support for substance abusers. Participants pay a $40 registration fee and $7 a week for drug screens. Similar programs are much more costly at an average rate of $3000 for the entire program.

The DRIOP is the result of a two-year process that culminated with license approval by Department of Health and Hospital (DHH) on June 19, 2007. DRIOP has over forty years combined experience in their staff. The program operates out of the Community Corrections Center, located at 100 Poydras Street in Lafayette.

Leah Dishong
Corrections PIO
Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office
337-231-6365 ext 25