McLellan said that such programs have a 70 percent success rate. But he warned that without specific incentives, many participants in the Harford program might drop out.
Patients must have not only a substance abuse problem but must also have a mental illness, such as attention-deficit disorder, an anxiety disorder or depression.
Such problems are not unusual among inmates, said Linda Davis, a social worker in charge of identifying potential candidates. She has worked with inmates at the detention center for more than a decade, mostly on HIV-related issues.
"What I tell the guys in the jail is, 'You don't know if you're depressed if you've never not been depressed,' " she said. She said many inmates use drugs and alcohol to deal with depression.
"A lot of them self-medicate," she said. "We have to come up with a different solution."
When the program started, among the first inmates to whom Davis spoke was India James.
James, 35, has spent much of the past six years in the detention center, mostly for shoplifting convictions. By her estimate, she has served 13 sentences. She is now serving nine months for violating probation after being arrested in March for shoplifting at a Wal-Mart.
James, who lives in Aberdeen, said she has spent much of the past six years addicted to crack and steals to get money for drugs. After being released, she can usually last a few months without using drugs.
"After that, all it takes is the right person saying the right words; it takes you back," she said.
After she gets out, James said, she usually returns to her old life.
"I just go back to my old hometown, with all the old hometown friends, who of course are getting high," she said.
When Davis approached her about the program, James was intrigued.
"The more she talked, the more I said, 'That's wonderful,' " James said. "I have to have some structure."
James still has far to go. She will be released from the Harford Detention Center this month and will then spend a year in state prison at Jessup. The time in the detention center is for violating probation; the time in Jessup is for the shoplifting conviction.
James is optimistic that the new Harford approach will help her when she gets out.
"There's no reason that drug addicts can't thrive in this program," she said.
PROGRAM OFFERINGS
* Free outpatient substance abuse treatment
* Free mental health treatment
* Free transportation from the detention center to outpatient treatment program
* Low-cost medical care
* Help with applying for state and federal programs, such as Medicaid and Primary Adult Care, that cover costs of substance abuse, mental health and/or medical care
