HOULTON, Maine — A program aimed at teaching inmates to make better choices so that they lessen their chances of reoffending after their release will be rolled out next month at the Aroostook County Jail.
Thinking For A Change brings together research from “cognitive restructuring theory, social skills development, and the learning and use of problem solving skills,” according to its website. The program is new to the Aroostook County Jail but has been used by the Maine Department of Corrections for some time, Aroostook County Sheriff Darrell Crandall said in a recent interview.
Crandall said that his department recently sent corrections officers Shanna Morrison and Devin Smith to be trained as facilitators of the program so that it can be offered to inmates at the Aroostook jail.
“The program is new to the jail,” said Crandall, adding that it comes at negligible cost to the facility. “But it has been very successful for the Department of Corrections.”
Morrison said that the major goal of the program is to help the inmates examine their thoughts and how they react to situations. By becoming more aware of the impact their actions have on themselves and others, the inmates should be better able to deal with the challenges and stressful situations they may face.
“The most important goal is to reduce recidivism,” she said. “That is really the way corrections is going now,” Morrison said.
All prisoners are encouraged to apply, according to Morrison, and the program will meet twice a week for three months.
“If a prisoner gets out before the program ends, they are free to come back and attend the rest of the program,” she said.
The program starts at the beginning of May.
“It is going to be a really positive impact for a certain portion of the population,” said Jail Administrator Craig Clossey. “This program is run throughout the country and is shown to reduce recidivism. It is one of the few programs out there that you can find positive statistics on. You can show that they take it and find that they don’t go back to prison for the same offense they landed in prison for. We are being proactive by trying to do it at the county level. Cognitive behavioral therapy is the way corrections has been going.”
Crandall said the program is open to anyone that corrections officials believe will be at the facility at least three months, and is required for anyone who is going to the Maine State Prison.
The Aroostook County Jail is the only county jail in the state putting on such a program.
Morrison said the program will require a lot of participation, including a lot of role playing, active listening, examining thoughts, controlling one’s behavior and group speaking.
Crandall said this program is going to work out well for the inmates.
“A lot of programs in the past few years talked about rehabilitation,” said Crandall. ”I say it is hard to rehabilitate someone who has never been habilitated in the first place. Some people didn’t have a good upbringing in the first place. There are deficits that are beyond their control. This is going to help them correct some of those deficits.”
