New rehab program for addicted convicts starting

"This puts Nevada on the cutting edge on what is going on across the country in the crossover between treatment and sanctions," said North, director of the nonprofit Vitality Center in Elko.

North also served on the Governor's Anti-Drug Commission and headed it for several years.

A 1997 law, authored by Sen. Valerie Wiener, D-Las Vegas, set aside $250,000 a year to start the program, modeled after one in California that resulted in a decline in criminal activity by those who finished the treatment.

Those accepted into the program will be segregated in a 125-bed unit at the newly refurbished and expanded Warm Springs prison. There will be group therapy, lectures, individual counseling and other programs aimed at breaking addictions.

When completing the course, inmates must continue to undergo treatment and that requirement can even carry over to when they're freed.

"We're not talking about a short-term quick fix like a broken leg," said North, who hopes to start the program in August or September. "This is a major lifestyle change."

The expansion and refurbishing of the 366-bed Warm Springs prison was completed this week and inmates are starting to be moved into the units.

Warden Robin Bates said an initial evaluation will be followed by a second screening to determine which inmates will benefit the most. Then North's Vitality Center will make the final selections.

A key goal is to cut the number of convicts who are released from prison but then end up behind bars for another offense. Drug and alcohol problems contribute substantially to this problem, North said.

"The goal is to protect the public health and safety and to put them (convicts) back on the street with the potential of staying out of prison," she said.

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