The OR legislature passed a bill which establishes the Alternative Incarceration Program in the DOC beginning January 1, 2004. But the DOC is starting to place people into it now. The already established boot camp is part of it. Now there will be a drug/alcohol program at Coffee Creek for women and one at Powder River for men. Inmates have to be minimum custody and can go into one of these three programs 3 years prior to their release date. The program is 6 months long, followed by 90 days transitional leave in the community. If the inmates completes those 9 months, the rest of the time is cut. There are restrictions on the type of offense, prior convictions, etc. which may keep an inmate out - but it's worth folks looking into. Inmates request it through their prison counselors. They are placing people into the programs now but time cuts can't (and wouldn't be anyway) awarded prior to January 1st (except boot camp). Zelda

Great news! I think this is so cool and it's long overdue. I hope it's successful and used as a model for prisons around the U.S. It's about time!