Carver Transitional Center – CoreCivic

Customer base: Oklahoma Department of Mental Health, Oklahoma Department of Corrections – Facility Type: Community Corrections Center

Carver Center is a 494-bed American Correctional Association accredited male and female halfway house located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Avalon was awarded a contract in 1985 by the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health to provide residential substance abuse aftercare services to 25 offenders referred from the Oklahoma Department of Corrections (ODOC). Carver’s facilities and programs have been expanded numerous times since 1985 to its current status of 556-beds.

Carver provides employment placement assistance, case management, and a 30-day/100-hour transitional program for the ODOC residents. Approximately 95% of the Carver residents referred by the Oklahoma Department of Corrections are employed in the community. Carver Center also contracts to provide residential program services for the US Pretrial Services office for the Western District of Oklahoma. The Oklahoma Department of Mental Health certifies Carver Center as a Drug and Alcohol treatment provider. Carver’s treatment team provides residential and outpatient substance abuse treatment programs, education, testing, counseling, 12-step programs, and relapse prevention classes. The treatment team also provides counseling for individuals, groups, and families. Counseling programs include anger management, and cognitive behavior modification.

Carver provides three nutritious meals per day, including a sack lunch provided to residents scheduled to leave the center for employment. Carver provides transportation for employment, medical appointments, and court and legal appointments.

What is "Community Corrections"?
"Community corrections" is a broad term used to describe numerous community-centric forms of correctional services, including residential reentry facilities, drug courts, treatment centers, and many others. Community corrections efforts focus on residential reentry centers, also known as "halfway houses." In Texas, Oklahoma, and Wyoming, our halfway houses and local, community partners provide men and women with the skills, guidance, knowledge, and resources necessary to successfully make the transition from incarceration to free society. We provide housing, food, counseling, training, and many other services to those in our care. Their goal is that they will experience productive, rewarding lives upon their return to society.

Why reintegration services matter?
Halfway houses are where offenders receive true help reintegrating into society.

Halfway houses lower recidivism. The national average for recidivism (the rate of released offenders who re-offend and are re-incarcerated within three years of release) is 50%. After successful completion of Avalon’s HH program, that rate drops to 12-18%.

Halfway house beds are the most cost effective beds. Not only do these facilities give offenders the best chance for successful reintegration into society, but they also save millions of dollars in State budgets.

In Oklahoma, the average cost of a medium security bed (2009) is $56 per day per inmate. A halfway house bed costs the State $35 per day. Additionally, offenders at our facilities pay an average of $10 per day from their earnings back into the Department of Corrections.

Halfway house residents are employed in the community. This is the number one way to lower recidivism and break the cycle of crime and re-incarceration. 97-98% of all inmates will eventually be back in our communities but only 13% of those released last year in Oklahoma were released from halfway houses.

Those inmates released from higher security facilities do not have jobs, savings or reintegration assistance when released and are much more likely to re-offend. One in 100 adults in the United States is behind bars.

BENEFITS OF COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS HALFWAY HOUSES:
• Reduces recidivism
• Reduces crime
• More cost-effective than building new prisons
• Reduces overcrowding
• Saves taxpayers millions of dollars in recurring incarceration costs
• Increases offenders' abilities to succeed
Our Mission: To break the cycle of crime by providing proven reintegration services.

They believe that change is possible.

Avalon Correctional Services, Inc. (Avalon) owns and operates community corrections centers, including halfway houses, which provide reintegration services for non-violent offenders serving the last 6 to 9 months of their sentences. Through our dedicated team and local partners, we provide our clients with reentry programs designed to successfully return them to their communities. Our clients leave our halfway houses with better life management skills, long term employment, and permanent housing — all important factors that reduce their likelihood to re-offend upon release.

Avalon has operated residential programs and residential treatment programs for over 29 years. Currently, they own and operate 10 residential halfway houses located in Texas, Wyoming, and Oklahoma. Together, these facilities provide residential reentry services including residential work release and residential treatment programs to more than 3,000 clients daily.