News - 2009
Cheyenne Mountain Re-Entry Center Visited By Australia Department of Corrective Services Official
West Caldwell, NJ, Aug 6 - On a fact finding trip to improve Australia's reentry treatment services, Brian Lawrence, Manager of the Acacia Prison and Court Security and Custodial Services Contracts of the Australia Department of Corrective Services, traveled to Colorado Springs, Colorado and toured the Cheyenne Mountain Re-Entry Center (CMRC), Community Education Centers' (CEC) 750-bed secure residential reentry center.
"It is a great honor that Mr. Lawrence picked CMRC from all the correctional facilities in the country to tour and gain knowledge about the effective reentry treatment services Community Education Centers provides. I know he will be impressed with the quality of treatment and operations at CMRC," said Dr. Robert Mackey, Senior Vice President at CEC.
Mr. Lawrence arrived on August 4, and examined ways to reduce recidivism in Australia. He chose to visit CMRC after receiving a grant to explore effective reentry programs. The recidivism rate in Western Australia is 42% and Mr. Lawrence will examine alternative strategies such as operations and legislative changes and a renewed approach to reentry services."
CMRC proudly serves the Colorado Department of Corrections providing a wide array of reentry treatment services that have been proven through university-based research to reduce recidivism. Our goal is to make Colorado a safer place as less offenders return to prison," added Dr. Mackey.
Services offered at CMRC include mental health counseling, anger management, group therapy, substance abuse counseling, and educational programming which include GED preparation and Adult Basic Education. Seminars are offered to residents that have advanced through the treatment phases that are designed to allow participation in a wide range of community-based programs and organizations, as well as establish a release and discharge plan that will support successful reentry when released into the community.
CMRC's approach is defined as a "Positive Peer Community" in which residents are immersed in consistent reinforcement of pro-social values, reentry education and skills development. While progressing through a series of developmental phases, the program provides opportunities for the resident to associate self-correction of negative behavioral patterns with pro-social values.
Community Education Centers, Inc. (CEC) is the largest provider of offender reentry and in-prison treatment services in America, operating in 20 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.
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