MONTGOMERY-- Gov. Kay Ivey has awarded $504,892 to help inmates at Alabama state prisons overcome drug addictions that may have led or contributed to their prison terms.

The Residential Substance Abuse Treatment program is six-month course that will be conducted at seven prisons with the intention of breaking the link between drug addiction and criminal activity.

“We should strive to ensure that once a person is released from prison they will become a productive member of society,” Ivey said. “This program provides inmates the opportunity to escape their drug habit while in prison and create a new slate when they are released.”

The program will be conducted by counselors who specialize in drug addictions. Inmates enrolled in the program will be subject to urinalysis testing throughout their incarceration.

The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs is administering the program from funds made available to the state from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Ivey notified Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner Jeff Dunn that the grant had been approved.

ADECA administers an array of programs supporting law enforcement and traffic safety, economic development, energy conservation, water resource management and recreation development.

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Contact Jim Plott or Mike Presley