Nearly 40 probationers and parolees graduated from the Dauphin County Day Reporting Center in Pennsylvania this month. The Dauphin County DRC is a GEO Reentry center that offers an intensive reentry program designed to help participants successfully reenter their communities by adopting a drug- and crime-free lifestyle and focusing on changing criminal behavior.
A reporter from local news station ABC 27 attended the graduation ceremony and talked with some of the graduates, including James O’Berry. O’Berry said that after 13 times in jail, he realized that his crack cocaine addiction was consuming his life and that it was time he helped himself.
Participants at the Dauphin County DRC receive evidence-based cognitive behavioral treatment designed to change their criminal thinking, as well as substance abuse treatment and training to help them manage their addictions and remain sober. To graduate from the program, participants must regularly report to the center, complete prescribed groups and classes, and remain drug free.
GEO Reentry’s Pennsylvania area manager, John Hogan, told the ABC 27 reporter that the program structure has helped many participants maintain sobriety. He said the program has also helped participants gain employment through workforce development and community connections, allowing them to achieve financial stability and continue their success once they leave the DRC.
O’Berry told the ABC 27 reporter that he saw many of his former cellmates repeat the cycle of incarceration over and over again. He hopes they can find their path to recovery like he did.
In 2013, the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections released a recidivism report that labelled Dauphin County as the county with the highest recidivism rates in the state. GEO Reentry is proud to have played a role in reducing these rates and, more importantly, in helping people like O’Berry change their lives for the better.
Lear more about our Pennsylvania programs and get the latest news from other GEO Reentry centers.