CAMPBELL COUNTY, Ky. -  As Kentucky jails continue to deal with overcrowding as a result of drug addiction, county jails are looking to get to the core of the problem.

In Northern Campbell County the detention center has launched a female drug program that takes female prisoners addicted to drugs and immerses them into a strict rehab program.

The program is almost in its fourth year and proving to be highly effective. 

“Our program is a little bit different in that it requires that these females commit six months of their lives to being in jail,” said Jim Daley, Jailer for Campbell County Detention Center. “We’ve actually had young women come in that knew they had a problem that would plead guilty to a felony when they had only been charged with a misdemeanor once our program got known a little bit up there, and that’s happened couple of times which I think is wonderful because it tells me the people in our community recognize we have this program and it works.” 

As jails deal with overcrowding they also deal with underfunding the state—with a daily per diem rate that has not changed in 10 years. Campbell County’s program overcomes that hurdle by running their program entirely on donations from the community and commissary funds meaning no taxpayer dollars are being used for it.

The program is a very strict six-month in-patient program then females must agree to be probated for a minimum of three additional years where they have to complete several programs. Some of the programs include parenting and work programs, also teaching women how to balance a checkbook, and trying to find where the drug problem stemmed from—and encouraging them to get out of that situation.

“We follow them for three years with that specific goal in mind,” Daley said. “We are now finishing up probably six-eight months into one set who have completely finished our program and we have a pretty good success rate I would say probably 70 percent or better, which for a drug program I would say is pretty good.”  

The program is designed with the realization that there will be relapses.

“We slap them on the wrist real hard and we bring them back into our program,” Daley said. “It’s not a one-stop fail. Our program is designed because we want them to be successful, we want them to go back into the community and the hope is not only will it work for them, and it’s an all-female program because we are limited on funds, but hopefully it will help their families or their children and the people we move them away maybe it will help them get out of that drug culture.”

Judges from surrounding counties have been sending females into Campbell County’s program due to the success rate. So far around 40 women have taken part in the full program. Daley would like to see the program grow and improve but he believes it could be a model for the rest of the state after the Campbell County program has proved itself.

“A lot of them when they get out are going to fail so you have to have the ability to bring them back in and they agree to that up front,” Daley said. “I don’t think the state has that as part of their program and I think that’s a benefit to us and the ladies in our program like that and to think they actually volunteer to come back and participate in our program as mentors , so it’s a kind of made us go left of center a little bit because normally unless you’re an inmate if you have that history you are not allowed to come back but we are taking them back as part of our program because it’s been beneficial for other ladies that are coming in.”

Campbell County Detention Center has several other programs aimed at improving people’s lives after jail.