"The new part is linking people released from the detention center to all these services in a systematic way," Olsen said.
Olsen developed the idea for the program this year, along with Sharon Lipford, head of the Harford County Office on Mental Health. Olsen broached the subject with Harford County Sheriff L. Jesse Bane, who oversees the detention center, and with Warden Elwood J. DeHaven. Both were enthusiastic.
Bane, who was elected in 2006, has promised to lower recidivism rates. He said the program could help do that.
When Olsen first talked with him about the idea, "I jumped right on it," he said. "If you can get these people the services they need, they won't be coming back."
Olsen emphasized that the program's aim is not simply to help inmates but to cut crime and prison budgets by reducing recidivism.
"This can have enormous benefits to the community," she said.
Thomas McLellan, a University of Pennsylvania psychologist and professor who is an expert on drug treatment, said that on average, an arrest costs taxpayers $13,000 and that a year in jail costs $30,000 to $40,000.
"It's in everybody's interest to reduce arrests and incarceration," he said.
The program is open to any prisoner at Harford's Detention Center. The jail, which usually has a population of about 460, houses inmates serving sentences of less than a year. Those serving longer terms or who are convicted of federal charges go to state or federal prison.
The program, which officially began in September, has signed up 14 inmates. Two have been released and have started treatment; the rest are still behind bars.
It will be funded by a three-year, $484,000 grant from the Maryland Community Health Resource Commission. Bane agreed to add $3,000 from his department's budget to cover the cost of transportation. In a county like Harford, which has limited public bus service, many prisoners have a hard time getting to and from treatment or therapy.
"When people get out of prison, there's a very high relapse rate," Schwartz said. "There aren't that many jails that have a tight linkage to community rehab. The standard practice is that they're on their own."
He called the Harford County program a "fantastic idea" and praised the focus on transportation.
Many researchers say that effective treatment programs give addicts a good chance to kick their habit.
