Addiction is at the core of the national drug misuse epidemic, inside and outside correctional centers. As part of our mission of improving lives for safer communities, the department facilitates substance use disorder treatment to lead Missourians toward drug-free lives.
Treatment, Counseling & Support
In a proactive collaborative approach including corrections staff, community volunteers and the treatment provider Alpharus Health (formerly Gateway Foundation), corrections facilities offer institutional treatment centers.
Treatment Centers
- Boonville Treatment Center: men’s 60-bed unit, Boonville Correctional Center, 1216 East Morgan Street
Boonville, MO 65233 - Chillicothe Women’s Treatment Center: women’s unit, Chillicothe Correctional Center, 3151 Litton Road, Chillicothe, MO 64601 | P : 660-646-4032 F : 660-646-1217
- Farmington Treatment Center: men’s unit, Farmington Correctional Center, 1012 West Columbia St., Farmington, MO 63640 | P : 573-218-7100 F : 573-218-7110
- Fulton Treatment Center: men’s unit, Fulton Reception and Diagnostic Center, 1393 State Route O, Fulton, MO 65251 | P : 573-592-4040 F : 573-592-4019
- Maryville Treatment Center: men’s unit, Maryville Treatment Center 30227 US Highway 136, Maryville, MO 64468 | P : 660-582-6542 F : 660-582-8071
- Northeast Treatment Center: men’s unit, Northeast Correctional Center, 13698 Airport Road, Bowling Green, MO 63334 | P : 573-324-9975 F : 573-324-5183
- Ozark Treatment Center: men’s unit, Ozark Correctional Center, Ozark Correctional Center 929 Honor Camp Lane, Fordland, MO 65652 | P : 417-767-4491 F : 417-767-2014
- Western Reception Regional Treatment Center: men’s unit, Western Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center, 3401 Faraon, St. Joseph, MO 64506 | P : 816-387-2158 F : 816-387-2217
- Women’s Eastern Treatment Center: women’s unit, Women’s Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center, 1101 East Highway 54, Vandalia, MO 63382 | P : 573-594-6686 F : 573-594-6789
In recent years, drug use and drug overdose rates have skyrocketed in Missouri communities and other communities throughout the United States. Prisons are no exception. The Missouri Department of Corrections is taking a multi-tiered approach to mitigating the effects of this trend:
- Prevention
- Identification
- Exclusion
Prevention
Substance use disorder treatment is available to people in Missouri Department of Corrections custody or on supervision statewide. The department provides:
- Regular drug testing
- Substance use disorder treatment through the behavioral health contractor Alpharus Health
- Institutional treatment centers for incarcerated people
- Behavioral health treatment at thirteen Improving Community Treatment Success (ICTS) programs, six community supervision centers (CSCs) and two transition centers for people on probation or parole
- Naloxone (Narcan) available for emergency use throughout our institutions and provided to residents upon release
- Medication-assisted treatment (MAT), which we recently have expanded to reach more people with substance use disorders and, in particular, opiate use disorder
- Access to 12-step programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous (AA/NA)
Identification
The department regularly takes measures to identify the presence of drugs in our facilities, including:
- Regular drug testing through resident urinalysis
- Cell searches and searches of common areas
- Monitoring of phone calls, email and other correspondence
- Searches conducted by drug dogs
Exclusion
The department closely monitors the ways through which drugs and other contraband can enter a prison and works to shut down as many entry points as possible. Because drugs increasingly are available in liquid form and small doses can be lethal, approaches are constantly evolving. Efforts include:
- Installation of body scanners, through which visitors, staff, contractors, volunteers, vendors and other adults entering state prisons are scanned to check for contraband (started in 2024)
- Establishment of a new Division of Adult Institutions Investigations Unit, in which trained investigators work with other entities to identify and shut down the sources of drugs before they enter state prisons and to aid in the prosecution of offenders by local, state and federal law enforcement agencies (started in 2024)
- Changes to the policies for receiving personal mail correspondence (switched to electronic delivery in 2022) and ordering books and other publications (changed procedure in 2023)
- Perimeter fence monitoring with infrared cameras
- Pat searches, property searches, X-ray scans and other searches at entry points
- Standardization of entry points search processes to ensure consistency and improve safety