Wyoming Honor Conservation Camp & Boot Camp

Wyoming Honor Conservation Camp (WHCC) is a correctional facility in Newcastle, Wyoming, run by the Wyoming Department of Corrections. It’s primarily a minimum security facility for male inmates, but it has a special Intensive Treatment Unit (ITU) that’s designed to give male and female inmates of all custody levels treatment for substance use disorders. According to Section 3621, under Title 18 of the US Code, the correctional authority must make appropriate substance use treatment available for convicted persons suffering from a substance use disorder (SUD). This is one of the correction centers that cater to this need within the correctional system.

A Comprehensive Approach to Rehabilitation

The SUD rehabilitation program within the Wyoming Department of Corrections (WDOC) is capable of treating patients with the most severe needs. They have medication assisted treatment available for those who need it, which can be offered to an inmate after their intake and screening process as part of their recovery. Apart from that, the rest of their comprehensive approach involves a 24 hour learning experience designed to assist and educate patients in all aspects of their rehabilitation journeys.

In both ITU wings, participants in the program are engaged with cognitive behavioral therapy as well as other individual therapy modalities. The 24 hour environment also incorporates group learning and communal therapy. These approaches help the inmates address SUD as well as any criminological or social factors that may have caused or been caused by illicit drug use.

Meeting Gender Specific Needs

While the program in each ITU wing is largely the same, there are key differences between the men’s program and the women’s program. This is because WDOC’s partners employ educational and therapeutic approaches backed by evidence to produce the best outcomes in each population.

One example of this is that a big focus in the men’s unit is addressing recidivism, while the women’s unit focuses more on giving participants the courage to change and set boundaries. WHCC is also mindful of the role trauma plays in bringing SUD into people’s lives, and so their approaches are trauma informed.