CATLETTSBURG — Officials on Thursday unveiled a new program at the Boyd County Detention Center aimed at breaking the cycle of drug addiction and incarceration.

The Boyd lockup is now one of only 16 in Kentucky with an in-house substance-abuse treatment facility.

The program, which is for male low-level felony offenders who have already been finally sentenced, actually began operations last month. The 32-bed lockdown facility is housed in the new wing of the detention center, apart from the rest of the inmate population.

The treatment program is operated by WestCare, a nonprofit behavioral health organization with services in seven states and in the Virgin Islands. The organization, which will celebrate its 36th anniversary later this year, has more than 80 sites in its service area, with the closest one to northeastern Kentucky being in Ashcamp, in Pike County, said Jennifer Noland, WestCare regional vice president.

In addition to Boyd, WestCare operates jail-based treatment programs in Pike and Floyd counties. The organization has a total of 78 rehab beds in Pike County — 54 for men and 24 for women — and 24 in Floyd County, all for men. WestCare contracts with the individual jails to operates the programs, Noland said.

The jail recovery is funded by the state Department of Corrections. It began as a pilot program in 2005 in nine facilities. It expanded to 13 counties the following year, and, last year, as a result of research presented by the University of Kentucky, the General Assembly allocated $4.5 million to expand the existing programs and to establish new ones. The state’s goal is to have programs in 25 facilities, Noland said.

“These programs are growing because they work,” she said.

Noland said Jailer Joe Burchett, his wife, Debbie, and Boyd Circuit Judge Marc Rosen all were instrumental in lobbying to bring a jail-based treatment program to Boyd County.

She said first met Joe Burchett three years ago at an event in Estill County, where she is from. When she told him she oversaw drug treatment programs in jails, his response was, “I need one of those,” she said.

WestCare’s jail recovery program was established in light of mounting evidence that simply locking up people who are addicted to drugs does not work, said Ray Cox, program director and counselor for the Boyd County program.

History has shown that people with untreated addictions usually return to drugs after they are released from jail and wind up committing crimes that land them right back in custody, he said.

The program also is designed to address the underlying issues that lead an individual to become addicted to drugs in the first place, Cox said.

“An active addiction is just a symptom of a disease,” he said.

The jail recovery program is a three-phase one that lasts for six months, Cox said. It utilizes various components that have been proven successful in the treatment of addiction, including group and behavioral therapy, peer accountability and “lots of homework,” Cox said.

The program also makes use of the 12-step process pioneered by programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous, Cox said.

In addition to treating patients’ addictions, “We’ve got to help teach these people what it means to be clean and sober,” Cox said.

There are currently 13 inmates in the program, Cox said.

The program is strictly voluntary, and the only inmates eligible for it are those who have been convicted of non-violent Class D felonies — crimes that could range from shoplifting to drug possession to fourth-offense driving under the influence. Also, only prisoners whose cases who have been adjudicated and who been finally sentenced in circuit court can qualify for treatment, Cox said.

However, state Sen. Walter Blevins, D-Sandy Hook, said the program could eventually tie in with legislation that was signed into law last month by Gov. Steve Beshear.

According to Blevins, Senate Bill 4 allows drug offenders the opportunity to receive treatment during the pre-trial phase of court proceedings. If they successfully complete treatment, they might never incur a subsequent felony charge.

Blevins also said current statistics show that about 85 percent of Kentucky’s prison inmates are locked up for crimes involving drugs.

“We can’t just throw (drug addicts) in jail and warehouse them because they come right back out and do the same thing again,” he said. “I think this program will make a difference in a lot of peoples’ lives.”

KENNETH HART can be reached at khart@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2654.