Work Ethic Camp needs our help now

This is an urgent appeal to all who support Nebraska's Work Ethic Camp in McCook. Your help is needed ... now. Within the next three to four weeks, the 49 members of the Nebraska Legislature will determine the fate of the camp. The senators will do so when they decide whether or not to include funding for the camp in the state's budget.

As supporters of the Work Ethic Camp, our job is to launch an all-out effort to make certain that state senators approve funding for the camp.

How can we do that? Each one of us -- in our own personal way -- can lend our voices to the cause. We can call, write, fax and e-mail senators, the governor and correctional department officials. And -- at every opportunity -- we can speak out about the issue to our friends and neighbors throughout Nebraska, telling them why continued operation of the camp is so important for the state's future.

Whatever you can do will help. Time is of the essence. Unless funding for the camp is approved in the next few weeks, one of the most promising correctional programs in the state's history will be nipped in the bud.

Why is the Work Ethic Camp so important? Because it is changing lives. Even though it's only been open two years, we are beginning to see how, in the long run, the camp could save the state millions of dollars in correctional costs.

How's that possible? It's possible because the "recidivism" (return to prison) rate for Work Camp offenders will be dramatically less than those sent to the state penitentiary. The recidivism rate for the state penitentiary is 24 percent. What's that mean? It means that nearly one-fourth of those released from the state pen return to prison within three years for a felony conviction. In comparison, Work Ethic Camp officials estimate a recidivism rate of only 1 or 2 percent for those who complete the Work Ethic Camp program.

What would the savings be if we could reduce the revolving doors for prisoners? Immense ... almost beyond estimation. Then there's the terrible methamphetamine problem. At this point, the Work Ethic Camp in McCook is the only effective and affordable program in the state for dealing with offenders hooked on meth. Without it, non-violent first-time offenders would be placed in the state penitentiary, where -- by the director's own admission -- it will be 18 months before drug and alcohol counseling will be available to those admitted to prison.

There are more reasons ... many more. We need to tell the Work Ethic Camp story ... and we need to tell it now. If we don't, Nebraska's state senators could end the most effective correctional program this state has ever known.