NCJ Number
207657
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 66 Issue: 6 Dated: October 2004 Pages: 88-91
Date Published
October 2004
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article describes the services offered and lessons learned from Minnesota's Women's Recovery Center, a 12-bed residential program designed to help women gain the resources and skills required to leave prostitution.
Abstract
The program stemmed from a study in Ramsey County (St. Paul) that found many prostitutes had been repetitively jailed for cumulative periods that ranged from 4 to 6 years, incurring significant costs without breaking the cycle of reoffending. Based on these facts, Volunteers of America floated the concept of a residential recovery center to serve as a court diversion option or a voluntary postrelease option for women charged with prostitution. The concept received widespread support among community and criminal justice agencies. Based on a literature review and several meetings with a small panel of former prostitutes, three program components were identified as essential: gender-specific chemical dependency treatment, mental health treatment with emphasis on sexual trauma, and a cognitive/teaching program of expanded life choices. Data collected on the program have found that it has been particularly effective with crack-addicted women who have multiple arrests/incarcerations for prostitution/drug use and who voluntarily chose the treatment program rather than additional criminal sanctions. With a successful outcome measured as freedom from prostitution, drug use, and criminal behavior, there has been an 80-percent success rate for those women who have completed the program. A 10-week journal account of one client's experience with the program is provided as a case example. 7 notes