West Caldwell, NJ, Oct 13 -

The Honorable Dr. Ewart F. Brown, Premier of Bermuda, spoke at the ribbon cutting ceremony for the island’s first therapeutic community (TC) program for its offender population on Oct. 12.  Community Education Centers, Inc. (CEC) has partnered with the Bermuda Department of Corrections (BDOC) to operate the TC for one year and will also provide staff training services. Also attending the ribbon cutting were Neletha I. Butterfield, Minister of Culture and Social Rehabilitation, Walter Roban, Acting Minister of Labour, Home Affairs  and Housing, Dr. Robert Mackey, Senior Vice President at CEC, and Jim Elder, State Director of Delaware at CEC.

“I would like to thank the Bermuda Department of Corrections for the confidence they have shown in Community Education Centers, Inc. to start up the island’s first therapeutic community.  I am confident that the expertise of our staff will make this a model program to reduce recidivism and also a source of pride for the island,” said John J. Clancy, Chairman and CEO of CEC.

The TC will be developed at the Bermuda DOC facility, the Farm, an adult male minimum security facility with a capacity to house 93 inmates who have completed their case plan requirement and attained minimum low risk security status. Inmates are transferred to the Farm Facility to participate in the next phase of their preparation for release into the community. This preparation involves work release on a daily basis as well as charity work.

The Bermuda TC project arose from a fact finding visit to the United States made by a Bermudian contingency last fall. The Bermudian officials were tasked with finding effective corrections-based treatment programs for drug-involved criminal offenders and stopped in New York, Florida, the Carolinas, and CEC’s in-prison treatment program in Delaware.  During their stay in Delaware they were impressed by a cross training facilitated by Jim Elder for CEC staff and the Delaware Department of Corrections called, “Understanding Therapeutic Community.”  From that event a partnership was formed with CEC that lead to the development of the TC.

"This program will assist in recovering some of our lost souls from the darkness they have experienced while tackling drug addiction. The anticipated outcome of this therapeutic community will not only benefit individuals who will participate in it, but also go a long way in healing our community, the Bermudian community in general, " said Walter Roban, Acting Minister of Labour, Home Affairs and Housing.

Community Education Centers, Inc. (CEC) is the largest provider of residential reentry and in-prison treatment services in America, operating in 19 states, with nearly 30,000 individuals in our daily care. CEC provides a full range of therapeutic residential and non-residential reentry services with a documented record of reducing recidivism. The company specializes in the reentry process and has developed the most effective reentry treatment model in the nation. CEC contracts with local, county, state, and federal government agencies, as well as non-profit agencies. CEC’s Secure Facilities Division also provides jail/detention management services at 17 facilities in Pennsylvania, Texas, and Ohio.