West Texas Detention Facility (ICE) - LaSalle

Inmate Programs - The West Texas Detention Facility's new Program Management needs in providing GED educational classes, work with individual Employability Skills of development, AA Substance Programs, Cage of Rage Programs, Courage to Heal Programs, and Free Legal Advice inmate programs. Other programs provide are various religious community services, and the Christmas Celebration Mass.

The goal for all LaSalle inmate programs is to change lives through the implementation and development of evidence-based and innovative programming solutions. From booking to re-entry, LaSalle offers a variety of programs and services to securely process, house, treat, and return inmates to society. In addition to offering typical activities like outside recreation, telephone communications, and commissary services in our facilities, there are opportunities to pursue continuing education, participate in rehabilitative programs, develop vocational skills, and even earn additional income that are available to inmates.

Program Categories:

• Accountability Planning - Supervision strategies are devised by a panel of advisors (i.e., law enforcement, community partners, correctional staff, family members, etc.) in order to assure a continuum of care for the offender during incarceration and upon release. This process begins with an initial intake process for the offender in order to assess programming needs, and then follows with the implementation of an individualized plan aimed at preparing the offender for successful re-entry.

• Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) - CBT addresses emotional, psychological, and cognitive disorders through behavior modifications. By aiding offenders in recognizing responses to different environments and situations, CBT impacts decision-making. It identifies detrimental patterns of thought and attempts to alter them. It is effective in treating substance abuse disorders, mood disorders, personality disorders, eating disorders, and anxiety disorders.

• Family Reunification - Children with offender parents are five to six times more likely to be incarcerated than children without offender parents. Family reunification programming focuses on strengthening family support networks. Regular visitation (both face-to-face & video conferencing), family counseling, parenting skills, and services provided for the well being of the child/children, are all utilized resources.

• Victim Awareness - Offenders do not always understand the impact of crime on the community, particularly the victims. Victim awareness programming enhances offenders' comprehension of the cause and effect nature of their actions, especially as it regards to the experience of being victimized. Programming may include any resources that assist the offender in attaining this comprehension, such as panels made up of victims, facilitated group discussion, statistics, audio/visual materials, and more.

• Workforce Development - Work release programs provide a community-based experience for offenders before their release date, and the Workforce Development Program coordinates work release activities with pre-transition educational and vocational training (i.e., GED, technical certification, computer training, etc.) because the synchronization of these processes allows offenders to develop a career path by providing them with marketable skills.

Specific Programs:

• GED, Literacy Training, CDL Computer-based training, Carpentry, Plumbing, Welding, Mechanical Training, Electrical Training, Heavy Equipment Training, Computer Training, Work-Release, Resume Training, Job Application Training, Offender Managed Newsletters, Freedmen Ministry - Accountability Planning & Workforce Development.

• Faith-based Substance Abuse Programs (Celebrate Recovery, Breaking Out: Faith-based Recovery, Drawing Near - Accountability Planning, CBT, Family Reunification, & Victim Awareness.

• Secular Substance Abuse Programs (AA, NA, CA, Blue Walters 90 Substance Abuse Program, STAR 1-year Substance Abuse Program) - Accountability Planning, CBT, Family Reunification, & Victim Awareness.

• Multi-denominational Worship Services, Group and Individual Counseling, Bible Study Sessions, Reading Groups, Offender Choirs, Angel Tree Christmas Gift Ministry, Traveling Sport Teams, Bicycle Repair Program - Accountability Planning, CBT, Family Reunification, & Workforce Development.

Work Release - Our Workforce Development programs focus on providing offenders with vocational training that will enable them to find employment during and after incarceration. Work release programs provide a community-based experience for offenders before re-entering the community. These programs give local employers the chance to collaborate with the correctional facility by creating a positive public/private partnership in the community while also educating employers on the aspects of offender employment.

The work-release program is coordinated with pre-transition educational and vocational training; the synchronization of these two processes allows offenders to develop a career path by providing them with marketable skills. Local and regional employers and training partners have been involved in the development of education and training programs to ensure that the offenders, being prepared for work release have the hard and soft skills to meet the regional labor market demands.

The hard skills are the industry or task-specific skills needed to perform a certain duty such as welding because one cannot be a welder unless they are able to weld. Soft skills are transferable skills that an offender needs to maintain employment in any setting. These are the interpersonal skills needed to positively participate in the community, and they differ from the skills required to be successful in a criminal environment.

A regional example of this is the existing partnership with the House of Raeford poultry business. Presently, approximately 100 work release offenders from 3 different correctional centers are working at the House of Raeford processing plant in Arcadia, Louisiana. This plant is part of a burgeoning regional industrial cluster built around the production of poultry products, and the local House of Raeford management team has been a vital partner in the creation of industry-specific workforce solutions that involve work release offenders. House of Raeford has steadily increased their use of work release offenders since they began utilizing the program, and they have also provided further opportunities for market penetration in the poultry industry by giving testimonials, making supply-chain introductions, consulting on program development, and assisting with logistical support.

The successful partnership with the House of Raeford, and the poultry industry as a whole, has encouraged further development of industry focused programming because this approach addresses several market challenges, but the main problem that it assists in correcting is offender recidivism. According to the Re-entry Policy Council, the recidivism rates of offenders who participate in vocation and educational training are lower by as much as 20% to 60% than those who do not; participants create fewer problems during incarceration and earn higher wages after release. The regionally focused work release program also positively impacts local economic development by providing labor force participants that are regularly drug tested, show up on time, well trained, and typically are pleased to be employed. We strive to implement evidence-based programming to aid offenders in their transition into the community. The vocational and educational programs will prepare offenders for the work release program by providing them with marketable skills that will be useful during and after incarceration.

Substance Abuse Treatment - Since substance abuse is one of the primary contributing offenses placing inmates in correctional facilities today, we believe offering a variety of treatment programs is vital to changing and improving lives. Secular substance abuse programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), Narcotics Anonymous (NA), Cocaine Anonymous (CA), Blue Walters, and STAR, along with faith-based programs such as Celebrate Recovery, Breaking Out: Faith-based Recovery, Drawing Near, and Kairos Prison Ministries are effective vehicles to drive personal recovery and redemption for an inmate.

A great example of such a treatment program is the STAR (Successful Treatment of Addiction and Recovery) Long-Term Program at Richwood Correctional Center's new year-long substance abuse treatment community. The program is licensed through Louisiana's Department of Health and Hospitals as part of the Monroe Addictive Disorders Clinic.

STAR is open to any inmate suffering from a substance abuse disorder having less than four years remaining on his sentence. Participants with remaining time greater than four years may be considered if they would like to continue past the course of treatment to be a mentor in Blue Walters.

The assessment battery includes a psychosocial interview, the Inventory of Risks, Needs, and Strengths (IORNS), the Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test Version 3.0 (ASSIST), and the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview 5.0 (MINI 5.0). After completion of the assessment battery, the program participant would then be allowed to begin participation in the program.

The offender benefits from a variety of services offered by the long term substance abuse/re-entry program. Services will be provided based on the need established in the assessment process and an individualized treatment plan will be developed for each participant. These services include addictions counseling, counseling for criminal thinking and behavior, mental health counseling, anger management, parenting classes, and more.

STAR is divided into three treatment phases: a 90-day initial phase focusing on substance abuse treatment and behavior modification; a 90-day second phase involving recreation therapy, career counseling, anger management, trauma resolution therapy, and ongoing substance abuse therapy; and finally a 180-day third phase that moves offenders into mentorship roles in Blue Walters where they facilitate Big Book studies, help participants complete and read required homework and self help literature, as well as provide other appropriate mentorship functions.

Participants are allowed to choose between Celebrate Recovery or a secular AA program. Program participants are encouraged to choose an accountability partner/sponsor and complete 12 step assignments.

If you need information about a detainee that is housed at this facility, you may call (915) 369-2269/70/71/72 between the hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. When you call, please have the individual’s biographical information ready, including first, last and hyphenated names, any aliases he or she may use, date of birth and country of birth.

Detainees cannot receive incoming calls. If you need to get in touch with a detainee to leave an urgent message, you must call (915) 369-2269/70/71/72 and leave the detainee’s full name, alien registration number and your name and telephone number where you can be reached. The detainee will be given your message.