Intensive Residential Treatment (CLC-IRT)

ComCor’s Intensive Residential Treatment program, referred to as ComCor Life Choices, an intensive residential treatment program (or “CLC-IRT") is a 45-day program for offenders from throughout the state of Colorado who have substance abuse problems and high levels of criminogenic needs. The purpose of the program is to provide intensive treatment interventions with the goal of providing offenders with the life stabilization tools to continue treatment after completion of the intensive phase. ComCor’s program accommodates offenders who are experiencing acute intoxication and/or withdrawal symptoms as well as those offenders who need medical care, especially those whose medical issues are related to long-term substance abuse.

ComCor was awarded a contract by the Department of Public Safety, Division of Criminal Justice to begin providing Intensive Residential Treatment services for Transition offenders for fiscal year 2000/2001. ComCor accepted the first CLC-IRT Transition offender on October 18, 2000.

ComCor was selected by the state of Colorado through a Request for Proposal process in early 2005 to increase the CLC-IRT program from 10 offenders to 36 offenders. ComCor’s expanded CLC-IRT program began providing services for Transition and Diversion offenders on July 1, 2005. The expanded program offers CLC-IRT services for males in both the open and closed treatment group environment and for female offenders in an open group environment.

The CLC-IRT program addresses offenders’ deficiencies in motivation, pro-social support systems, viable employment, appropriate living arrangements, social or psychological adaptive skills, ability to live substance-free and inability to adequately function outside a correctional and/or treatment-controlled environment. The program is supervised by clinical professionals with significant levels of experience in working with dually diagnosed offenders. The program uses evidence-based clinical interventions, including the approved Strategies for Self-Improvement and Change curriculum. Treatment responsiveness is a primary goal of the CLC-IRT program.

The CLC-IRT program is housed at ComCor’s Transition facility and is under the supervision of the Transition Facility Manager. The CLC-IRT program is operated pursuant to a contract with the state of Colorado and ComCor’s response to the State’s Request for Proposal.

ComCor’s CLC-IRT program complies with all applicable Colorado Department of Public Safety, Division of Criminal Justice’s “Colorado Community Corrections Standards,” as revised. The program also complies with all applicable Colorado Department of Human Services, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division’s “Standards and Regulations for Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment,” as revised, and all applicable American Correctional Association “Adult Community Residential Standards,” as revised.

Individuals in the CLC-IRT program are under the jurisdiction of the Colorado Department of Public Safety, Division of Criminal Justice, the Colorado Department of Corrections, Division of Adult Parole, Community Corrections and Youthful Offender System, and the El Paso County Community Corrections Board.

Eligibility for placement in ComCor’s CLC-IRT program is based on the acceptance criteria set by the El Paso County Community Corrections Board through the El Paso County Department of Justice Services. The Board’s criteria for ComCor’s CLC-IRT program can be found on their Web site.

ComCor’s CLC-IRT program also has guidelines for acceptance. These guidelines detail the eligibility criteria and the factors that are considered when a referral is screened for acceptance into ComCor’s program. The IRT program will accept individuals only if the requirements for a Diversion, Transition or Condition of Parole placement have been issued by the referring agency. A copy of ComCor’s CLC-IRT Treatment program guidelines for acceptance is available upon request.

Generally offenders are referred to ComCor’s CLC-IRT program because the offender is identified as being in need of an intensive level of treatment based on the state’s approved assessment protocols, and their referral is a condition of their supervision. Another common reason for referral to ComCor’s CLC-IRT program is the offender’s failure to progress in a traditional residential community corrections program, and typically their negative program behavior includes drug use. Referrals to ComCor’s CLC-IRT program follow the same referral process as the associated Diversion, Transition and Condition of Parole programs. Please see those program descriptions for a more information on the referral process.

ComCor provides information on all CLC-IRT referrals screened to the Department of Justice Services in accordance with the Department’s guidelines. Additional information on the referral process to ComCor’s program can be found on the Department of Justice Service’s Web site.

ComCor utilizes the Strategies for Self-Improvement and Change curriculum (SSIC) as the core substance abuse treatment curriculum for the CLC-IRT program. The SSIC curriculum, developed by Dr. Kenneth W. Wanberg and Dr. Harvey B. Milkman, presents effective cognitive-behavioral treatment approaches for changing the behaviors of individuals who have both problems of substance abuse and criminal behavior. The program utilizes a state-of-the art approach for effectively preventing criminal recidivism and substance-abuse relapse within community-based and correctional settings. The curriculum includes rationale, objectives, content and presentation sequence for the three phases of treatment delivery: challenge to change, commitment to change, and ownership of change.

The Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division (ADAD) has approved the SSIC curriculum for use with offenders, and ComCor has received specific approval by Wanberg and Milkman to utilize the curriculum in an open-ended delivery track. ComCor has also implemented the female adaptation to the SSIC curriculum that was developed by Wanberg and Milkman and approved by ADAD in early 2003.

ComCor’s program is designed for those offenders who have demonstrated intense levels of chemical-dependency treatment needs. These individuals usually experience an impact on all life functioning areas to such a degree that they require more help than traditional residential or outpatient substance-abuse treatment programs provide.

All of ComCor’s substance-abuse treatment programs, including the SSIC curriculum programs, are delivered by counselors who are certified by the state of Colorado as Addiction Counselors (CAC) and/or are licensed by the state as mental health professionals (LCSW, LPC and Ph.D.).

ComCor’s CLC-IRT program also offers a wide range of other treatment services in addition to the core SSIC curriculum including, but not limited to:

Individuals participating in ComCor’s CLC-IRT program are assigned a case manager, and a thorough assessment process is conducted utilizing the state’s Standardized Offender Assessment-Revised assessment battery. A vocational needs screen is conducted on each individual to determine if a more thorough vocational assessment needs to be done. A mental health screen is also conducted on each program participant at the time of admission to identify any immediate mental health issues that need to be addressed.

The case manager collaborates with ComCor’s mental health staff, treatment staff and vocational staff to develop an individualized supervision plan for each offender, outlining the program outcomes and behavioral expectations for the individual. This supervision plan is based on each individual’s unique criminogenic needs and risk factors. A treatment plan is also developed for each program participant under the supervision of ComCor’s Substance Abuse Program Coordinator.

Individuals are required to participate in 40 hours of treatment groups and life skills classes each week while in the program. A well-established system of substance abuse monitoring and testing for alcohol and drug use monitors each offender in the CLC-IRT. Program participants are required to meet regularly with their assigned case manager to discuss progress toward objectives identified in their individualized supervision plans and to address problems that may be impinging on the individual’s participation in the CLC-IRT program.

Senior Program Manager
Jarle C. Wood
719.260.8002

Transition Facility
3808 North Nevada Avenue
Colorado Springs, CO 80907
719.636.5200
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