Community Sentencing Female Opportunity Group "FOG" Substance Abuse/Mental Health Treatment Program

Oklahoma County Community Service is pleased to announce the development of a new program offered to female offenders on community sentencing. The “FOG” substance abuse program was begun out of necessity. The Governor's Task Force concerning the incarceration rate for female offenders in Oklahoma identified substance abuse for women as the leading cause of incarceration for female offenders. Because Community Sentencing was started to offer the courts an option in sentencing alternatives for moderate risk offenders, a long term outpatient substance abuse program was sought to assist female offenders assigned to the program.

The “FOG” program is a 28-week outpatient treatment program for substance abuse issues and co-occurring mental health substance abuse issues. The first 11 weeks require daily treatment sessions lasting 90 minutes each and the remaining portion of the program is weekly sessions lasting 90 minutes. The service provider for the program is located in downtown Oklahoma City, a short distance from the new metro bus station. For indigent offenders Community Sentencing can supply bus tokens to assist with transportation needs.

This program uses a model of treatment developed by Dr. Stephanie Covington, PhD, LSCW. Dr. Covington is a clinician, author, and lecturer. She is recognized for her pioneering work in the area of women's issues.

Dr. Covington specializes in the development and implementation of gender-responsive services. Her organizational work in both the public and private sectors focuses on systems change and the development of caring, compassionate, and empowering environments.

Dr. Covington recently completed a multiyear contract with the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections to provide comprehensive, system-wide consulting services to address the issues of female offenders. She has served as a consultant to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Vienna and the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) in Washington , D.C. She was a workshop chair for both the Women's Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) and the Trauma TIP (published by CSAT).

Dr. Covington has developed numerous models used in substance abuse treatment throughout the country. The “FOG” program at Community Sentencing will use Dr. Covington's “ Helping Women Recover: A Program for Treating Substance Abuse - Special Edition for use in the criminal justice system” workbook and treatment syllabus.

This model addresses critical areas of a woman's life that may relate to substance abuse and/or usage. The subjects covered in the model are;

• What is Addiction? (3 sessions)
• The Addictive Process (3 sessions)
• The Addictive Personality (3 sessions)
• The Affects of Substances on the Brain (3 sessions)
• Self (4 sessions)
• Relationships (5 sessions)
• Sexuality (5 sessions)
• Spirituality (3 sessions)

Research concerning substance abuse treatment for women reports a very large percentage of women in treatment have suffered physical, sexual, or mental abuse during their lifetime. Because of this high rate, the “FOG” group will complete another workbook and treatment model offered by Dr. Covington. This model is called “Beyond Trauma” and has three sections. These sections are titled;

• Violence, Abuse and Trauma (4 sessions)
• The Impact of Trauma (4 sessions)
• Healing from Trauma (3 sessions)

A mental health component was added to the “FOG” group that was not brought forward by Dr. Covington. Research for substance abuse in both men and women reveals a large percentage also would benefit from mental health treatment. The Oklahoma Department of Mental Health Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS) offers a model for treatment of those individuals who suffer from both a substance abuse problem and a mental health problem. The Co-Occurring model has four sections.

- Mental Illness (3 sessions) - Medications (3 sessions) - Substance Abuse and Bipolar, Anxiety, Major Depressive Disorders, and PTSD (3 sessions) - Dual Recovery Process (3 sessions)

The daily sessions mentioned above will be held on consecutive weekdays (Monday through Friday) until completed. After the completion of the daily sessions the group will begin weekly sessions that cover the following topics;

• Communication (3 sessions)
• Anger Management (5 sessions)
• Relapse Prevention (3 sessions)
• Stress Management (3 sessions)
• Parenting Skills (3 sessions)

The completion of all the above sessions takes approximately 11 weeks. All offenders in the “FOG” program will have a Probation Officer assigned to monitor supervision prior to beginning the program. Each offender will be responsible for completing all other rules and conditions of probation the court orders. An aftercare program will be monitored for each participant completing the program. Urine testing will be conducted randomly.

It is required that all participants of this program start on the same date. No offender will be admitted into a group after the cycle of treatment has started. A group size of eight to 12 participants is desired. All participants will have a drug and alcohol assessment and mental health assessment completed prior to entering the program.

Community Sentencing probation officers will monitor attendance and receive progress evaluations on a weekly basis for each offender in the program. All offenders attending the program will be monitored after completion of the program in order to determine the success and validity of the treatment.