Drug Rehabilitation Center

The Drug Rehabilitation Center (DRC) for male and female inmates is the first of its kind in any New Jersey County Jail and has been in operation since 1995. This intensive, 90-day in-patient substance abuse treatment program is for inmates who meet classification criteria.

All inmates enter the program on a voluntary basis and may request an interview by completing an Inmate Advocate Form, available at all times in each housing unit. The DRC program is structured on a 12-week cycle and addresses all relevant issues related to addiction and criminal behavior. The program utilizes the “New Direction” curriculum, an evidence-based curriculum designed specifically for correctional facilities by the Hazelden Foundation.

The Sheriff’s Office is working to restructure the DRC program in order to provide more enhanced discharged planning services. To this end, the Sheriff’s Office has already begun to recruit volunteers to provide services that have been identified as essential for effective re-entry efforts.

Placement Professionals, a Hackensack-based job placement firm, is currently providing weekly job readiness groups to the men housed in the DRC program. Similar services will eventually be offered to female offenders as well as general population inmates.

In April of 2010, the BCSO opened the first-ever county jail-based treatment program for women. This separate unit houses eight female inmates and addresses the critical issues that women face when confronting reintegration into the community. At a minimum, this treatment experience will address physical health, mental health, substance abuse, housing, life skills, parenting skills, education and employment.