Female criminal offenders in Utah have a new program that pools resources, from education to housing and employment services, in one place.
The Women's Treatment and Resource Center officially opened its doors Friday, although it has been operating on a smaller scale for about a month. Two hundred offenders are enrolled in the program, a number the state Department of Corrections hopes to eventually grow to 400 or more, said department spokesman Jack Ford.
Participating organizations include the Utah Department of Workforce Services, the University of Utah Women's Center, the Rape Recovery Center and the state Division of Child and Family Services.
Participants are under active supervision by agents from the Adult Probation and Parole. More than half the 800 supervised women are victims themselves, largely of substance abuse or domestic violence, Ford said.
The resource center will focus on needs surrounding those issues.
The goal, he said, is to "get them back on their feet and back out on the street to be productive members of society."
Utah first lady Mary Kaye Huntsman helped dedicate the Women's Treatment and Resource Center on Friday. It is located behind the Orange Street Community Correctional Center in Salt Lake City.