Second Chance Program
Encyclopedia
The Second Chance Program is a controversial detoxification and rehabilitation
program based on the ideas of L. Ron Hubbard
, the founder of the Church of Scientology
. It focuses on individuals convicted of substance abuse
offenses. The program utilizes a combination of saunas, vitamins, minerals and oils to tackle the effects of drug addiction. Other elements of the program aim to improve the educational and social abilities of inmates, and to instil a moral code for them to live by. First established in Baja California
in 1995, it has attracted controversy over its methods and claimed success rates.
The program was proposed – but was rejected – for prisons in the states of Arizona
, Nevada
and New York
. Between 1995 and 2009 it operated in prisons in the Mexican cities of Tijuana
and Ensenada
and in Albuquerque, New Mexico
in the United States
. Its Mexican operations were closed down after it lost government funding. Its only US operation was terminated in January 2009 by the Mayor of Albuquerque. By that time it had received more than $1.5 million dollars in public funding, but on closing it left debts of over $672,000 to the federal, state and city governments.
Scientology's relationship with the Second Chance organization has been a particular focus of contention, as the program uses many elements of Hubbard's doctrines that originated in, and are still used by, the Church of Scientology. The involvement of Nevada Assembly
member Sharron Angle
with Second Chance was a significant issue in the 2010 United States Senate election
s.
, a drug rehabilitation program linked with the Church of Scientology, eventually becoming Executive Director for the US-wide organization. He also worked in an official capacity for Criminon
, a Scientology-related program for prisoners that is based on L. Ron Hubbard's works. In 1995 he established Second Chance, described as a "non-profit corporation that rehabilitates offenders in the criminal justice system" utilising L. Ron Hubbard's methods.
in 1995. It was funded partly with his own money and partly with financial support from the Mexican government. It was subsequently approved for use in the state prison at Tijuana
, though that program was suspended due to prisoner moves.
The program was publicized in the United States and elsewhere, attracting a series of official visitors. The Spanish judge Baltazar Garzón was among the visitors, and the government of Guatemala
was reported to be interested in the program. In October 2001, two officials from Erie County Holding Center
in Buffalo, New York
visited Ensenada at a Scientology patron's expense. They were impressed enough to appeal for $700,000 to introduce Second Chance to their own prison, although lack of funds put the project on hold.
The Ensenada program was eventually shut down after losing its government funding.
state representative Mark Anderson sponsored an amendment in 2000 that would have appropriated $1.5 million to fund a Second Chance program. However, the amendment was defeated after the head of the Arizona Department of Corrections
was strongly critical of Second Chance in hearings before the Arizona Senate Judiciary Committee, in which he noted that no nationally recognized drug treatment expert or institution had studied the program. He was concerned about its ties to Scientology and its methods.
Arizona State Senators Tom Smith and Christine Weason visited the Ensenada Second Chance facility in 2001 and declared themselves impressed by it, though neither sought to introduce legislation regarding Second Chance in their own state. They pushed for the state government or private donors to find funding to support Second Chance, but the government rejected this idea; the cost of the program, at $15,000 a head, was regarded as prohibitive.
by Republican Assemblywoman Sharron Angle
from Reno, Nevada
. In February 2003 she proposed legislation to establish Second Chance in Nevada for female prisoners and invited 35 legislators to accompany her on a trip to Ensenada to see the program in operation there. She had already twice visited Ensenada, once with a group of women legislators and later with Nevada Department of Corrections
Director Jackie Crawford. She was impressed with the facility and sought to authorize a demonstration project in Nevada, supported by funding from the federal government. It emerged that the trip to Ensenada was being underwritten by Randall Suggs, an Arizona businessman and wealthy Scientologist who was later to play a major role in bankrolling Second Chance in New Mexico.
Angle's involvement with Second Chance attracted significant media and political interest. Assembly Majority Leader, Democrat Barbara Buckley
, advised legislators to vote against Angle's proposal and the office of Republican Governor Kenny Guinn
indicated that they wanted nothing to do with it. Angle received little support for her proposal and dropped the plan, blaming Democratic opposition.
. Angle's previous support for Second Chance was used in attack ad
s by Sue Lowden
, her opponent for the Republican nomination, and incumbent Democratic Senator Harry Reid
. An advert by Lowden portrayed Second Chance as a cushy health spa with inmates wearing prison uniform being tended to by attractive masseuses. The voiceover asserted that "Career politician and Senate candidate Sharron Angle sponsored a bill that would have used tax dollars to give massages to prisoners." The same line of attack was used in a Harry Reid ad: "That's Sharron Angle. First, a Scientology plan to give massages to prisoners. Now she wants to get rid of Medicare and Social Security. What's next?"
During a KVBC
-hosted debate on the program "Face to Face with Jon Ralston", Angle was asked by Ralston "about recent whispers that an Angle legislative proposal to explore a program of massages and sweat-boxes for Nevada prisons was a strange foray into Scientology." Angle responded, "This program had a recividism rate of less than 10 percent. They aren’t massages. ... it was more of a karate chop. The sauna was a sweat box. When you’re in there with 30 guys it’s not exactly a sauna." Angle also told the conservative news magazine Human Events
that Second Chance was "not Scientology, but rather natural homeopathic medicine". (The program uses saunas and vitamin and mineral supplements, not homeopathy
.)
. Sixty of them accepted his invitation to visit Ensenade to inspect the program. One of them, New Mexico Republican Anna Crook, was sufficiently impressed to ask the New Mexico Corrections Department to establish a pilot program. The department declined but Crook managed to obtain $350,000 for Second Chance from the 2004 federal appropriations bill. The majority of the remaining $300,000 required to fund the program was donated by Randall Suggs, a Scientologist who owned a stake in the Arizona Diamondbacks
baseball team. Another $300,000 was later allocated by the state of New Mexico. Crook convinced other New Mexico legislators to pass a bill allowing judges to sentence offenders to Second Chance in lieu of prison. To be eligible, inmates had to be facing imprisonment of six months to a year and had to have been diagnosed with chronic substance abuse problems. Prisoners with serious medical conditions or who had committed violent or sex offenses would not be accepted.
The program was established in Albuquerque, New Mexico. W. John Brennan, a former chief district judge who had been convicted in 2004 of drunk driving and cocaine possession, was hired by Second Chance as its President and was given the task of lobbying New Mexico judges to send inmates to attend the program. Second Chance received its first inmate in September 2006. In its first year it had several hundred referrals and on average housed about 65 inmates at a time in the old West Side jail in Albuquerque. Jurisdictions that sent inmates to Second Chance included Socorro
, Grant
, Taos
and Sierra
counties.
Although the program had some support, mainly from rural parts of the state, it was controversial from the start. The program's unconventional methods, unwillingness to disclose its finances and ties to Scientology aroused controversy, although Second Chance officials and a Scientology spokesperson said that there were no ties. Judge William Lang, the chief district judge in the Albuquerque area, was "highly suspicious" of the program. Lang cautioned many of New Mexico's district judges about the program, arguing that funding for treatment should go to existing programs that have a track record. He said that he was concerned by Second Chance's use of unlicensed substance abuse professionals, that its administrators were vague about its treatment model and that its corporate structure was unclear. Sheriff Darren White Bernalillo County told the Albuquerque Journal that he was "very, very skeptical" about Second Chance and would prefer the criminal justice system to "fund what we already know works." Some judges, unconvinced of its effectiveness, refused to refer offenders.
The effectiveness and methods of the program was also questioned. A study carried out by the University of New Mexico
found that the program was taking in violent offenders, in violation of its criteria, and that judges sending inmates to the program were unclear about its mandate. Following the presentation of the study to the New Mexico Legislature, Curry County
commissioners decided to end their contract with Second Chance. The commissioners stated that Second Chance had billed the county $4,500 without a signed contract and was not sending requested progress reports on the inmates in their care.
ordered an investigation to establish the status of the inmates and Second Chance was given a deadline in December 2008 to account for its inmates.
However, Albuquerque Public Safety Director Pete Dinelli accused Second Chance of transferring inmates out of the facility just before the deadline expired. According to city officials, 40 inmates were bused to an Albuquerque homeless shelter and another eight inmates were loaded into a van and taken out of the county. The city's chief of police reported:
The eight had been convicted of violent crimes; Dinelli commented that Second Chance appeared to be "deliberately deciding not to include those eight individuals. And to me failure to disclose is just as good as lying." It also emerged that Second Chance had violated its lease by building a large sauna inside the facility without permission.
Second Chance's lease was terminated by the city a few days later. Mayor Chávez said: "They simply didn't live up to their end of the agreement", citing Second Chance's housing of violent inmates and the apparent attempt to cover this up. He accused Second Chance of misleading city and state officials, saying: "This program has been based on misrepresentation and deceit, and, frankly, I can't see how that would be the basis for a good recovery program." He was strongly critical of Second Chance's attempt to "avoid our oversight, our scrutiny" and said: "It's very evident to me that they were attempting to avoid oversight by taxpayers. This is not going to be tolerated." The notice of termination also accused Second Chance of misusing its facility as a jail rather than as a substance abuse rehabilitation center.
The program was terminated with effect from January 31, 2009, and the remaining 20 or so inmates were returned to their original jurisdictions. Second Chance made an unsuccessful last-minute appeal to legislators to save it from closure. By November 2008, it had received more than $1.5 million dollars in public funding but by March 2009 it was reported to owe over $672,000 to the state, the city and the IRS in tax liens, utility bills and unpaid rent.
From the start of Second Chance's involvement with the prison system in the United States, its close ties with Scientology have been a controversial issue. The materials used by Second Chance are licensed from Criminon
, another Scientology-related organization. Its officials denied that it was based on Scientology. Joy Westrum said in 2007 that it was "utilizes a protocol that is based on the discoveries of Mr. Hubbard. Second Chance is a completely secular program."
However, according to former and current Second Chance employees interviewed by the Albuquerque Journal, "everything that happens there is based in Scientology." Inmates and employees were required to go through courses and "ethics training" that were taken directly from Scientology; Scientology-related entities played a major role in operations at Second Chance; the program was predominately funded by wealthy Scientologist donors; and the program materials were taken directly from Narconon and Criminon, both run by Scientologists and classified by the IRS as "scientology-related entities". Several employees told the Journal that the program was merely a "front group" for Scientology. The Mayor of Albuquerque, Martin Chavéz, commented: "It was always represented to us that this program was totally secular, but that some of it was based on L. Ron Hubbard's teachings ... If in fact what they were doing out there was teaching people directly out of L. Ron Hubbard's books, well, that just adds fuel to the fire."
and Narconon
, two other Scientology-related entities:
The first four modules are delivered in the facility, while the final Reintegration Module begins in the facility and continues after release. Each of the modules consists of a number of courses, as summarized below:
The program makes extensive use of saunas. In the case of the New Mexico Second Chance program, inmates spent four hours a day in the sauna, interrupted only by short breaks to drink water, eat raw vegetables or take a shower. The sauna sessions were preceded by exercise. Inmates were also required to take large doses of vitamins, minerals and olive oil. Participants perform "nerve assists" - a type of laying on of hands
- on each other.
The communication drills involve inmates sitting in pairs, three feet apart, and going through a series of exercises that can last for hours at a time. Some involve sitting face-to-face, eyes closed, in total silence. Others involve a technique called "bull-baiting", where one insults the other, who is expected to remain silent. The Santa Fe Reporter
gave an example:
Another drill requires inmates to sit opposite each other, look each other in the eye and read lines from Lewis Carroll
's Alice in Wonderland.
, Study Technology, Hubbard's book The Way to Happiness
, communication drills originally developed for Scientology auditing
and an ethical framework derived from Scientology
.
The sauna-based part of the program is based on Hubbard's belief that the body's fatty tissue accumulate drugs and other toxins over time. This is said to contribute to cravings, which make it harder to overcome addiction. The use of vitamins, minerals and oils is supposed to dislodge toxins stored in body fat, which is then sweated out during sauna sessions. However, this belief has been criticized by medical experts. Professor Bill Miller of the University of New Mexico told the Wall Street Journal that he did not know of any scientific basis for it, and commented: "It wasn't clear to me what sort of scientific basis there was even for the conception of the program to begin with." A similar program was reviewed by the National Council Against Health Fraud, which found that such detoxification methods do the opposite of what Hubbard claimed. Instead of releasing fat into the bloodstream, high doses of niacin
block the release of fat and can damage the liver.
According to Second Chance, it uses "cutting-edge study technology from Applied Scholastics
", another Scientology-related organization. Study Technology is based on the idea that there are three fundamental barriers to learning. These are said to be a "lack of mass", when there is no object to illustrate a concept; a "skipped gradient", when difficult material needs to be studied incrementally, and a "misunderstood word", which can be resolved by using dictionaries in a process called "word clearing." David G. Bromley and Mitchell L. Bracey, Jr. comment that "the concept of the misunderstood word ... has a central position within Scientology's teachings." These principles were set out by Hubbard in "Barriers to Study", a Scientology publication issued in 1971.
The British sociologist Roy Wallis
comments that Study Technology forms a key element of Scientology indoctrination by "assist[ing] those who are slow in grasping the principles of the movement." Its underlying principle is that a failure to understand a text is due not to the text being faulty – such as it being nonsensical – but because the reader has failed to understand a word or concept. Thereby, Wallis notes, "the individual learns to doubt his own judgement; to locate some meaning in the undoubted mystification of much of Hubbard's writing; or to acquiesce to some half-comprehended and yet half-incomprehensible statement in the hope that all will be made clear to him at some later point." The extreme tedium of "word clearing" leads, in Wallis's view, to "a further suspension of the individual's critical faculty, or to its inhibition, and to the ready acceptance of Hubbard's formulations as intrinsically meaningful."
The Way To Happiness is described by Joy Westrum of Second Chance as "a nonreligious moral code written by L. Ron Hubbard and based wholly on common sense." Published in 1980 as a 48-page booklet, it sets out 21 moral precepts for the reader to follow. It forms the core of the Criminon program and is also used in Narconon – all clients receive a pamphlet of The Way to Happiness when they begin the program. It has been widely distributed by individual Scientologists and Scientology-related organizations. A campaign in the early 1990s to distribute the booklet in US schools was described in Church of Scientology publications as "the largest dissemination project in Scientology history" and "the bridge between broad society and Scientology."
Criminon's Ups and Downs in Life course, which Second Chance uses, teaches the concept of "Suppressive Person
s" and "Potential Trouble Sources". These concepts come from Scientology. Ruth A. Tucker wrote that the concept appeared to have first been introduced into Scientology in the 1960s "as membership grew and as authoritarian control [by Hubbard] increased." Tucker notes that many of those who joined Scientology during this period were "well-educated people who prided themselves in independent thinking [who] struggled with the idea of allowing any other individual to completely dominate their opinions." Hubbard's definitions of the characteristics of "Suppressive Persons" were set out in Scientology works of the 1960s, notably his 1968 book Introduction to Scientology Ethics.
found that Second Chance had a success rate far below what was claimed. Although it claimed that only 10% of its graduates went on to reoffend, Second Chance's own figures obtained by KRQE showed that the recidivism rate was closer to 32%. Some of the failures were among Second Chance's own instructors, six of whom had subsequently been charged with offenses ranging from drug dealing to smuggling contraband into a jail. A study carried out by the University of New Mexico found that within 100 days of graduation, 8.6% of Second Chance graduates committed new crimes and 22.9% violated their probations. Officials in Curry County, New Mexico stated that thirteen inmates from the county had undergone the program but only three graduated, two of whom subsequently returned to jail.
A different study of Second Chance in Mexico by Dr. Alfonso Paredes claimed that the program had a recidivism rate for those who completed the program of less than 10 percent. However, the Albuquerque Journal noted that Dr. Paredes was reported to have studied Scientology (he is listed as having achieved the Scientology status of "Clear
" in 1991) and he is also on the advisory board of Narconon. The University of New Mexico criminologist, Paul Guerin, who carried out a study into Second Chance, was skeptical of the claims made by Paredes: "They need to drop this Mexican study. There's not a program ever that has produced those kinds of results."
As of March 2007, Second Chance was not certified by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF). Second Chance's website lists certifications for Narconon, but none for itself.
Rehabilitation (penology)
Rehabilitation means; To restore to useful life, as through therapy and education or To restore to good condition, operation, or capacity....
program based on the ideas of L. Ron Hubbard
L. Ron Hubbard
Lafayette Ronald Hubbard , better known as L. Ron Hubbard , was an American pulp fiction author and religious leader who founded the Church of Scientology...
, the founder of the Church of Scientology
Church of Scientology
The Church of Scientology is an organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. The Church of Scientology International is the Church of Scientology's parent organization, and is responsible for the overall ecclesiastical management, dissemination and...
. It focuses on individuals convicted of substance abuse
Substance abuse
A substance-related disorder is an umbrella term used to describe several different conditions associated with several different substances .A substance related disorder is a condition in which an individual uses or abuses a...
offenses. The program utilizes a combination of saunas, vitamins, minerals and oils to tackle the effects of drug addiction. Other elements of the program aim to improve the educational and social abilities of inmates, and to instil a moral code for them to live by. First established in Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
in 1995, it has attracted controversy over its methods and claimed success rates.
The program was proposed – but was rejected – for prisons in the states of Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
and New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. Between 1995 and 2009 it operated in prisons in the Mexican cities of Tijuana
Tijuana
Tijuana is the largest city on the Baja California Peninsula and center of the Tijuana metropolitan area, part of the international San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan area. An industrial and financial center of Mexico, Tijuana exerts a strong influence on economics, education, culture, art, and politics...
and Ensenada
Ensenada, Baja California
Ensenada is a coastal city in Mexico and the third-largest city in Baja California. It is located south of San Diego on the Baja California Peninsula. The city is locally referred to as La Cenicienta del Pacífico, or, The Cinderella of the Pacific...
and in Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Its Mexican operations were closed down after it lost government funding. Its only US operation was terminated in January 2009 by the Mayor of Albuquerque. By that time it had received more than $1.5 million dollars in public funding, but on closing it left debts of over $672,000 to the federal, state and city governments.
Scientology's relationship with the Second Chance organization has been a particular focus of contention, as the program uses many elements of Hubbard's doctrines that originated in, and are still used by, the Church of Scientology. The involvement of Nevada Assembly
Nevada Assembly
The Nevada Assembly is the lower house of the Nevada Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Nevada. The body consists of 42 members, elected to two-year terms from single-member districts. Each Assembly district contained approximately 47,400 people as of the 2000 census, although...
member Sharron Angle
Sharron Angle
Sharron Elaine Angle is an American politician who served as a Republican member of the Nevada Assembly from 1999 to 2007. She ran unsuccessfully as the 2010 Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate seat in Nevada, garnering 45 percent of the vote...
with Second Chance was a significant issue in the 2010 United States Senate election
United States Senate election in Nevada, 2010
-Tarkanian:-Angle:-Polling:Includes current candidates who have polled at least 2% in at least one poll.-Results:-Candidates:*Harry Reid , incumbent U.S...
s.
Background
Second Chance was established by Rick Pendery, a former real-estate developer and veteran Scientologist. During the 1970s he worked for NarcononNarconon
Narconon is a residential program aimed at substance abusers, headquartered in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. It operates through several dozen treatment centers worldwide, chiefly in the United States and Western Europe. Each Narconon center is independently owned and operated under a license...
, a drug rehabilitation program linked with the Church of Scientology, eventually becoming Executive Director for the US-wide organization. He also worked in an official capacity for Criminon
Criminon
Criminon is a program for rehabilitating prisoners using L. Ron Hubbard's teachings. Criminon International, a non-profit, public-benefit corporation managing the Criminon program, was spawned from Narconon International in 2000, and is part of Association for Better Living and Education's public...
, a Scientology-related program for prisoners that is based on L. Ron Hubbard's works. In 1995 he established Second Chance, described as a "non-profit corporation that rehabilitates offenders in the criminal justice system" utilising L. Ron Hubbard's methods.
Mexico
Pendery unsuccessfully sought to open a Second Chance program in a US prison, but succeeded in establishing the program in the state prison at Ensenada, Baja CaliforniaEnsenada, Baja California
Ensenada is a coastal city in Mexico and the third-largest city in Baja California. It is located south of San Diego on the Baja California Peninsula. The city is locally referred to as La Cenicienta del Pacífico, or, The Cinderella of the Pacific...
in 1995. It was funded partly with his own money and partly with financial support from the Mexican government. It was subsequently approved for use in the state prison at Tijuana
Tijuana
Tijuana is the largest city on the Baja California Peninsula and center of the Tijuana metropolitan area, part of the international San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan area. An industrial and financial center of Mexico, Tijuana exerts a strong influence on economics, education, culture, art, and politics...
, though that program was suspended due to prisoner moves.
The program was publicized in the United States and elsewhere, attracting a series of official visitors. The Spanish judge Baltazar Garzón was among the visitors, and the government of Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
was reported to be interested in the program. In October 2001, two officials from Erie County Holding Center
Erie County Holding Center
The Erie County Holding Center in Buffalo, New York is a pre-trial, maximum security, detention facility that serves Erie County. Capable of housing 680 inmates, it is the second largest detention facility in New York State outside of New York City. Inmate "Over-flow" is housed at the Holding...
in Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
visited Ensenada at a Scientology patron's expense. They were impressed enough to appeal for $700,000 to introduce Second Chance to their own prison, although lack of funds put the project on hold.
The Ensenada program was eventually shut down after losing its government funding.
Arizona
Legislators in Arizona expressed interest in Second Chance in 2000-2001. RepublicanRepublican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
state representative Mark Anderson sponsored an amendment in 2000 that would have appropriated $1.5 million to fund a Second Chance program. However, the amendment was defeated after the head of the Arizona Department of Corrections
Arizona Department of Corrections
The Arizona Department of Corrections is in charge of the incarceration of inmates in 10 prisons in the U.S. state of Arizona. As of April 2009, the ADC manages over 40,191 imprisoned inmates and over 7,216 inmates who have been paroled or that are statutorily released. ADC is also in involved in...
was strongly critical of Second Chance in hearings before the Arizona Senate Judiciary Committee, in which he noted that no nationally recognized drug treatment expert or institution had studied the program. He was concerned about its ties to Scientology and its methods.
Arizona State Senators Tom Smith and Christine Weason visited the Ensenada Second Chance facility in 2001 and declared themselves impressed by it, though neither sought to introduce legislation regarding Second Chance in their own state. They pushed for the state government or private donors to find funding to support Second Chance, but the government rejected this idea; the cost of the program, at $15,000 a head, was regarded as prohibitive.
Nevada
Second Chance was promoted in NevadaNevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
by Republican Assemblywoman Sharron Angle
Sharron Angle
Sharron Elaine Angle is an American politician who served as a Republican member of the Nevada Assembly from 1999 to 2007. She ran unsuccessfully as the 2010 Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate seat in Nevada, garnering 45 percent of the vote...
from Reno, Nevada
Reno, Nevada
Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The city has a population of about 220,500 and is the most populous Nevada city outside of the Las Vegas metropolitan area...
. In February 2003 she proposed legislation to establish Second Chance in Nevada for female prisoners and invited 35 legislators to accompany her on a trip to Ensenada to see the program in operation there. She had already twice visited Ensenada, once with a group of women legislators and later with Nevada Department of Corrections
Nevada Department of Corrections
The Nevada Department of Corrections is a governmental agency in the U.S. state of Nevada. The NDOC headquarters is located in Building 17 in the Stewart Facility in Carson City.-History:...
Director Jackie Crawford. She was impressed with the facility and sought to authorize a demonstration project in Nevada, supported by funding from the federal government. It emerged that the trip to Ensenada was being underwritten by Randall Suggs, an Arizona businessman and wealthy Scientologist who was later to play a major role in bankrolling Second Chance in New Mexico.
Angle's involvement with Second Chance attracted significant media and political interest. Assembly Majority Leader, Democrat Barbara Buckley
Barbara Buckley
Barbara Buckley is a Democratic member of the Nevada Assembly, representing Clark County District 8 since 1994. She is the current Speaker, and the first woman in Nevada history to serve as speaker...
, advised legislators to vote against Angle's proposal and the office of Republican Governor Kenny Guinn
Kenny Guinn
Kenneth Carroll "Kenny" Guinn was an American businessman, educator and politician. He was the 27th Governor of Nevada from 1999 to 2007. He was a member of the Republican Party and a former member of the Democratic Party....
indicated that they wanted nothing to do with it. Angle received little support for her proposal and dropped the plan, blaming Democratic opposition.
2010 United States Senate election controversy
In 2010, Second Chance again became the subject of controversy in relation to that year's United States Senate election in NevadaUnited States Senate election in Nevada, 2010
-Tarkanian:-Angle:-Polling:Includes current candidates who have polled at least 2% in at least one poll.-Results:-Candidates:*Harry Reid , incumbent U.S...
. Angle's previous support for Second Chance was used in attack ad
Attack ad
In political campaigns, an attack ad is an advertisement whose message is meant as a personal attack against another candidate or political party...
s by Sue Lowden
Sue Lowden
Suzanne Parkinson "Sue" Pluskoski Lowden is the former Chairwoman of the Nevada Republican Party and a former State Senator in Nevada. Lowden is a former businesswoman, television news anchor and kindergarten teacher...
, her opponent for the Republican nomination, and incumbent Democratic Senator Harry Reid
Harry Reid
Harry Mason Reid is the senior United States Senator from Nevada, serving since 1987. A member of the Democratic Party, he has been the Senate Majority Leader since January 2007, having previously served as Minority Leader and Minority and Majority Whip.Previously, Reid was a member of the U.S...
. An advert by Lowden portrayed Second Chance as a cushy health spa with inmates wearing prison uniform being tended to by attractive masseuses. The voiceover asserted that "Career politician and Senate candidate Sharron Angle sponsored a bill that would have used tax dollars to give massages to prisoners." The same line of attack was used in a Harry Reid ad: "That's Sharron Angle. First, a Scientology plan to give massages to prisoners. Now she wants to get rid of Medicare and Social Security. What's next?"
During a KVBC
KVBC
KSNV-DT, channel 3 , is the NBC-affiliated television station in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is the flagship station of Intermountain West Communications Company...
-hosted debate on the program "Face to Face with Jon Ralston", Angle was asked by Ralston "about recent whispers that an Angle legislative proposal to explore a program of massages and sweat-boxes for Nevada prisons was a strange foray into Scientology." Angle responded, "This program had a recividism rate of less than 10 percent. They aren’t massages. ... it was more of a karate chop. The sauna was a sweat box. When you’re in there with 30 guys it’s not exactly a sauna." Angle also told the conservative news magazine Human Events
Human Events
Human Events is a weekly American conservative magazine. It takes its name from the first sentence of the United States Declaration of Independence...
that Second Chance was "not Scientology, but rather natural homeopathic medicine". (The program uses saunas and vitamin and mineral supplements, not homeopathy
Homeopathy
Homeopathy is a form of alternative medicine in which practitioners claim to treat patients using highly diluted preparations that are believed to cause healthy people to exhibit symptoms that are similar to those exhibited by the patient...
.)
New Mexico
In 2002, Pendery gave a presentation on Second Chance to a conference of the National Foundation of Women Legislators being held in San Diego, CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Sixty of them accepted his invitation to visit Ensenade to inspect the program. One of them, New Mexico Republican Anna Crook, was sufficiently impressed to ask the New Mexico Corrections Department to establish a pilot program. The department declined but Crook managed to obtain $350,000 for Second Chance from the 2004 federal appropriations bill. The majority of the remaining $300,000 required to fund the program was donated by Randall Suggs, a Scientologist who owned a stake in the Arizona Diamondbacks
Arizona Diamondbacks
The Arizona Diamondbacks are a professional baseball team based in Phoenix. They play in the West Division of Major League Baseball's National League. From 1998 to the present, they have played in Chase Field...
baseball team. Another $300,000 was later allocated by the state of New Mexico. Crook convinced other New Mexico legislators to pass a bill allowing judges to sentence offenders to Second Chance in lieu of prison. To be eligible, inmates had to be facing imprisonment of six months to a year and had to have been diagnosed with chronic substance abuse problems. Prisoners with serious medical conditions or who had committed violent or sex offenses would not be accepted.
The program was established in Albuquerque, New Mexico. W. John Brennan, a former chief district judge who had been convicted in 2004 of drunk driving and cocaine possession, was hired by Second Chance as its President and was given the task of lobbying New Mexico judges to send inmates to attend the program. Second Chance received its first inmate in September 2006. In its first year it had several hundred referrals and on average housed about 65 inmates at a time in the old West Side jail in Albuquerque. Jurisdictions that sent inmates to Second Chance included Socorro
Socorro County, New Mexico
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*75.1% White*1.1% Black*11.7% Native American*1.2% Asian*0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*2.8% Two or more races*8.1% Other races*48.5% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...
, Grant
Grant County, New Mexico
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*84.9% White*0.9% Black*1.4% Native American*0.4% Asian*0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*2.8% Two or more races*9.8% Other races*48.3% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...
, Taos
Taos County, New Mexico
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*68.7% White*0.4% Black*6.2% Native American*0.7% Asian*0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*3.9% Two or more races*20.1% Other races*55.8% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...
and Sierra
Sierra County, New Mexico
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*85.6% White*0.4% Black*1.7% Native American*0.4% Asian*0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*3.3% Two or more races*8.6% Other races*28.0% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...
counties.
Although the program had some support, mainly from rural parts of the state, it was controversial from the start. The program's unconventional methods, unwillingness to disclose its finances and ties to Scientology aroused controversy, although Second Chance officials and a Scientology spokesperson said that there were no ties. Judge William Lang, the chief district judge in the Albuquerque area, was "highly suspicious" of the program. Lang cautioned many of New Mexico's district judges about the program, arguing that funding for treatment should go to existing programs that have a track record. He said that he was concerned by Second Chance's use of unlicensed substance abuse professionals, that its administrators were vague about its treatment model and that its corporate structure was unclear. Sheriff Darren White Bernalillo County told the Albuquerque Journal that he was "very, very skeptical" about Second Chance and would prefer the criminal justice system to "fund what we already know works." Some judges, unconvinced of its effectiveness, refused to refer offenders.
Financial difficulties
Second Chance faced increasing financial difficulties from its second year of operations. W. John Brennan distanced himself from Second Chance, criticizing the way it was being operated and managed. By the end of 2007, Bernalillo County had ceased sending prisoners to the program and Second Chance's income from state funding was below the anticipated level. To make up for the shortfall, Second Chance began "jail shopping" in 2008 – offering rural counties the chance to offload their overflow inmates, including women, at a discounted rate. It appealed to the New Mexico legislature for $3.6 million of further funding. Although the proposal was again supported by state representative Anna Crook, Second Chance was awarded only $600,000 in July 2008. More money was raised from private donors but this was insufficient to cover expenses. It laid off employees, missed payroll deadlines and was ordered by a court to pay $78,000 after failing to pay for its video security system. An additional blow came when Brennan was forced to resign from his post as President of Second Chance after being charged with committing false imprisonment and battery on a household member.The effectiveness and methods of the program was also questioned. A study carried out by the University of New Mexico
University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico at Albuquerque is a public research university located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States. It is the state's flagship research institution...
found that the program was taking in violent offenders, in violation of its criteria, and that judges sending inmates to the program were unclear about its mandate. Following the presentation of the study to the New Mexico Legislature, Curry County
Curry County, New Mexico
Curry County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Mexico. The population was approximately 45,044 at the 2000 census. Its county seat is Clovis. It is named in honor of George Curry, territorial governor of New Mexico from 1907 to 1910...
commissioners decided to end their contract with Second Chance. The commissioners stated that Second Chance had billed the county $4,500 without a signed contract and was not sending requested progress reports on the inmates in their care.
Investigation and termination
In November 2008, state officials expressed concern that the program had become a "dumping ground" for prisoners from around the state, including those convicted of violent felonies. Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White commented: "They were established as a treatment facility and not a jail, and it appears to me that it's being run as such." Albuquerque Mayor Martin ChávezMartin Chavez
Martin Joseph Chávez Chávez is a former three-term mayor of Albuquerque, New Mexico and New Mexico State Senator. He currently serves as the Executive Director of ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability USA. and Chairman of the Advisory Board for the Center for Green Schools at U.S. Green...
ordered an investigation to establish the status of the inmates and Second Chance was given a deadline in December 2008 to account for its inmates.
However, Albuquerque Public Safety Director Pete Dinelli accused Second Chance of transferring inmates out of the facility just before the deadline expired. According to city officials, 40 inmates were bused to an Albuquerque homeless shelter and another eight inmates were loaded into a van and taken out of the county. The city's chief of police reported:
The eight had been convicted of violent crimes; Dinelli commented that Second Chance appeared to be "deliberately deciding not to include those eight individuals. And to me failure to disclose is just as good as lying." It also emerged that Second Chance had violated its lease by building a large sauna inside the facility without permission.
Second Chance's lease was terminated by the city a few days later. Mayor Chávez said: "They simply didn't live up to their end of the agreement", citing Second Chance's housing of violent inmates and the apparent attempt to cover this up. He accused Second Chance of misleading city and state officials, saying: "This program has been based on misrepresentation and deceit, and, frankly, I can't see how that would be the basis for a good recovery program." He was strongly critical of Second Chance's attempt to "avoid our oversight, our scrutiny" and said: "It's very evident to me that they were attempting to avoid oversight by taxpayers. This is not going to be tolerated." The notice of termination also accused Second Chance of misusing its facility as a jail rather than as a substance abuse rehabilitation center.
The program was terminated with effect from January 31, 2009, and the remaining 20 or so inmates were returned to their original jurisdictions. Second Chance made an unsuccessful last-minute appeal to legislators to save it from closure. By November 2008, it had received more than $1.5 million dollars in public funding but by March 2009 it was reported to owe over $672,000 to the state, the city and the IRS in tax liens, utility bills and unpaid rent.
Corporate structure and links with Scientology
The Second Chance program in Albuquerque was operated by two entities, against which tax liens were levied by the IRS and the state of New Mexico. The entities were Second Chance Program Inc., and Second Chance Center New Mexico LLC. Second Chance Program Inc. is a private nonprofit company while Second Chance Center is a private for-profit corporation. However, neither Second Chance's President Joy Westrum nor her husband, executive director Rick Pendery, have explained the roles or functions of the two entities. Chief District Judge William Lang complained in 2006 that he was unclear about the corporate structure of Second Chance.From the start of Second Chance's involvement with the prison system in the United States, its close ties with Scientology have been a controversial issue. The materials used by Second Chance are licensed from Criminon
Criminon
Criminon is a program for rehabilitating prisoners using L. Ron Hubbard's teachings. Criminon International, a non-profit, public-benefit corporation managing the Criminon program, was spawned from Narconon International in 2000, and is part of Association for Better Living and Education's public...
, another Scientology-related organization. Its officials denied that it was based on Scientology. Joy Westrum said in 2007 that it was "utilizes a protocol that is based on the discoveries of Mr. Hubbard. Second Chance is a completely secular program."
However, according to former and current Second Chance employees interviewed by the Albuquerque Journal, "everything that happens there is based in Scientology." Inmates and employees were required to go through courses and "ethics training" that were taken directly from Scientology; Scientology-related entities played a major role in operations at Second Chance; the program was predominately funded by wealthy Scientologist donors; and the program materials were taken directly from Narconon and Criminon, both run by Scientologists and classified by the IRS as "scientology-related entities". Several employees told the Journal that the program was merely a "front group" for Scientology. The Mayor of Albuquerque, Martin Chavéz, commented: "It was always represented to us that this program was totally secular, but that some of it was based on L. Ron Hubbard's teachings ... If in fact what they were doing out there was teaching people directly out of L. Ron Hubbard's books, well, that just adds fuel to the fire."
Methodology
The Second Chance Program consists of five core modules, combining course materials from CriminonCriminon
Criminon is a program for rehabilitating prisoners using L. Ron Hubbard's teachings. Criminon International, a non-profit, public-benefit corporation managing the Criminon program, was spawned from Narconon International in 2000, and is part of Association for Better Living and Education's public...
and Narconon
Narconon
Narconon is a residential program aimed at substance abusers, headquartered in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. It operates through several dozen treatment centers worldwide, chiefly in the United States and Western Europe. Each Narconon center is independently owned and operated under a license...
, two other Scientology-related entities:
- Drug Rehabilitation Module
- Study Skills Module
- Self Respect Module
- Life Skills Module
- Reintegration Module
The first four modules are delivered in the facility, while the final Reintegration Module begins in the facility and continues after release. Each of the modules consists of a number of courses, as summarized below:
| Module | Course | Purpose and methodology |
| Drug Rehabilitation Module | Orientation | Program introduction |
| Communication Course | Equivalent to the Criminon Communication Course. Teaches students to communicate using "communication drills". | |
| Sauna Detox | Core element of Narconon. Aims to "detoxify" students by taking exercise, sauna sessions and massive doses of vitamins and minerals. | |
| Advanced Communication A | Equivalent to the Narconon Communication and Perception course. Intended to give students the ability to more fully communicate with others and their environment. | |
| Advanced Communication B | As per above. | |
| Study Skills Module | Study Skills Course | Equivalent to the Narconon Learning Improvement and the Criminon Learning Skills for Life courses. Teaches students "how to study, how to overcome the barriers to comprehension, how to retain knowledge, and apply what they have learned". |
| Self-Respect Module | Way to Happiness Course | Equivalent to Criminon Way to Happiness Course. Utilizes L. Ron Hubbard's book The Way to Happiness to teach the student a new moral code. |
| Life Skills Modules | Changing Conditions of Life Course | Uses the Criminon Improving Conditions In Life course. Teaches a student to recognize the different conditions that a person or activity can be in, and how to improve conditions of life. |
| Ups and Downs in Life Course | Uses the Criminon How to Deal with Ups and Downs in Life course. Deals with the skills needed "to chart one's own course in life, with honesty and integrity". | |
| Potential Trouble Source Handling Course. | Uses the Criminon How to Deal with Ups and Downs in Life course. Teaches the student how "to spot and handle negative personal associations which would tend to lead one astray", by identifying "anti-social personalities" in society. |
The program makes extensive use of saunas. In the case of the New Mexico Second Chance program, inmates spent four hours a day in the sauna, interrupted only by short breaks to drink water, eat raw vegetables or take a shower. The sauna sessions were preceded by exercise. Inmates were also required to take large doses of vitamins, minerals and olive oil. Participants perform "nerve assists" - a type of laying on of hands
Laying on of hands
The laying on of hands is a religious ritual that accompanies certain religious practices, which are found throughout the world in varying forms....
- on each other.
The communication drills involve inmates sitting in pairs, three feet apart, and going through a series of exercises that can last for hours at a time. Some involve sitting face-to-face, eyes closed, in total silence. Others involve a technique called "bull-baiting", where one insults the other, who is expected to remain silent. The Santa Fe Reporter
Santa Fe Reporter
Santa Fe Reporter is an alternative weekly newspaper published in Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States. It features reports on local news, politics, art and culture....
gave an example:
Another drill requires inmates to sit opposite each other, look each other in the eye and read lines from Lewis Carroll
Lewis Carroll
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson , better known by the pseudonym Lewis Carroll , was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, as well as the poems "The Hunting of the...
's Alice in Wonderland.
Theoretical basis
Second Chance's program is based on what are said to be "secular discoveries" made by L. Ron Hubbard. In particular, it draws on five key elements – the Purification RundownPurification Rundown
The Purification Rundown, also known as the Purif or the Hubbard Method, is a controversial detoxification program developed by Scientology's founder L. Ron Hubbard and used by the Church of Scientology as an introductory service. Scientologists consider it the only effective way to deal with the...
, Study Technology, Hubbard's book The Way to Happiness
The Way to Happiness
The Way to Happiness is a 1980 booklet written by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard listing 21 moral precepts, and distributed by The Way to Happiness Foundation International, a Scientology-related non-profit organization founded in 1984....
, communication drills originally developed for Scientology auditing
Auditing (Scientology)
Auditing was developed by L. Ron Hubbard, and is described by the Church of Scientology as "spiritual counseling which is the central practice of Dianetics and Scientology".-Description:...
and an ethical framework derived from Scientology
Ethics (Scientology)
According to the Church of Scientology, "Ethics may be defined as the actions an individual takes on himself to ensure his continued survival across the dynamics. It is a personal thing. When one is ethical, it is something he does himself by his own choice."...
.
The sauna-based part of the program is based on Hubbard's belief that the body's fatty tissue accumulate drugs and other toxins over time. This is said to contribute to cravings, which make it harder to overcome addiction. The use of vitamins, minerals and oils is supposed to dislodge toxins stored in body fat, which is then sweated out during sauna sessions. However, this belief has been criticized by medical experts. Professor Bill Miller of the University of New Mexico told the Wall Street Journal that he did not know of any scientific basis for it, and commented: "It wasn't clear to me what sort of scientific basis there was even for the conception of the program to begin with." A similar program was reviewed by the National Council Against Health Fraud, which found that such detoxification methods do the opposite of what Hubbard claimed. Instead of releasing fat into the bloodstream, high doses of niacin
Niacin
"Niacin" redirects here. For the neo-fusion band, see Niacin .Niacin is an organic compound with the formula and, depending on the definition used, one of the forty to eighty essential human nutrients.Niacin is one of five vitamins associated with a pandemic deficiency disease: niacin deficiency...
block the release of fat and can damage the liver.
According to Second Chance, it uses "cutting-edge study technology from Applied Scholastics
Applied Scholastics
Applied Scholastics is a non-profit corporation founded in 1972 to promote the use of study techniques created by L. Ron Hubbard, a science fiction author and the founder of the Church of Scientology...
", another Scientology-related organization. Study Technology is based on the idea that there are three fundamental barriers to learning. These are said to be a "lack of mass", when there is no object to illustrate a concept; a "skipped gradient", when difficult material needs to be studied incrementally, and a "misunderstood word", which can be resolved by using dictionaries in a process called "word clearing." David G. Bromley and Mitchell L. Bracey, Jr. comment that "the concept of the misunderstood word ... has a central position within Scientology's teachings." These principles were set out by Hubbard in "Barriers to Study", a Scientology publication issued in 1971.
The British sociologist Roy Wallis
Roy Wallis
Roy Wallis, was a sociologist and Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences at the Queen's University Belfast. He is mostly known for his creation of the seven signs that differentiate a religious congregation from a sectarian church, which he created while researching the Scientology...
comments that Study Technology forms a key element of Scientology indoctrination by "assist[ing] those who are slow in grasping the principles of the movement." Its underlying principle is that a failure to understand a text is due not to the text being faulty – such as it being nonsensical – but because the reader has failed to understand a word or concept. Thereby, Wallis notes, "the individual learns to doubt his own judgement; to locate some meaning in the undoubted mystification of much of Hubbard's writing; or to acquiesce to some half-comprehended and yet half-incomprehensible statement in the hope that all will be made clear to him at some later point." The extreme tedium of "word clearing" leads, in Wallis's view, to "a further suspension of the individual's critical faculty, or to its inhibition, and to the ready acceptance of Hubbard's formulations as intrinsically meaningful."
The Way To Happiness is described by Joy Westrum of Second Chance as "a nonreligious moral code written by L. Ron Hubbard and based wholly on common sense." Published in 1980 as a 48-page booklet, it sets out 21 moral precepts for the reader to follow. It forms the core of the Criminon program and is also used in Narconon – all clients receive a pamphlet of The Way to Happiness when they begin the program. It has been widely distributed by individual Scientologists and Scientology-related organizations. A campaign in the early 1990s to distribute the booklet in US schools was described in Church of Scientology publications as "the largest dissemination project in Scientology history" and "the bridge between broad society and Scientology."
Criminon's Ups and Downs in Life course, which Second Chance uses, teaches the concept of "Suppressive Person
Suppressive Person
Suppressive Person, often abbreviated SP, is a term used in Scientology to describe the "antisocial personalities" who, according to Scientology's founder L. Ron Hubbard, make up about 2.5% of the population...
s" and "Potential Trouble Sources". These concepts come from Scientology. Ruth A. Tucker wrote that the concept appeared to have first been introduced into Scientology in the 1960s "as membership grew and as authoritarian control [by Hubbard] increased." Tucker notes that many of those who joined Scientology during this period were "well-educated people who prided themselves in independent thinking [who] struggled with the idea of allowing any other individual to completely dominate their opinions." Hubbard's definitions of the characteristics of "Suppressive Persons" were set out in Scientology works of the 1960s, notably his 1968 book Introduction to Scientology Ethics.
Claimed success rates and certifications
An investigation in 2008 by New Mexico news television station KRQEKRQE
KRQE, digital channel 13, is the CBS-affiliated television station serving the Albuquerque, New Mexico television market; the station is owned by LIN TV Corporation and is sister station to Fox affiliate KASA-TV...
found that Second Chance had a success rate far below what was claimed. Although it claimed that only 10% of its graduates went on to reoffend, Second Chance's own figures obtained by KRQE showed that the recidivism rate was closer to 32%. Some of the failures were among Second Chance's own instructors, six of whom had subsequently been charged with offenses ranging from drug dealing to smuggling contraband into a jail. A study carried out by the University of New Mexico found that within 100 days of graduation, 8.6% of Second Chance graduates committed new crimes and 22.9% violated their probations. Officials in Curry County, New Mexico stated that thirteen inmates from the county had undergone the program but only three graduated, two of whom subsequently returned to jail.
A different study of Second Chance in Mexico by Dr. Alfonso Paredes claimed that the program had a recidivism rate for those who completed the program of less than 10 percent. However, the Albuquerque Journal noted that Dr. Paredes was reported to have studied Scientology (he is listed as having achieved the Scientology status of "Clear
Clear (Scientology)
Clear in Dianetics and Scientology is one of two levels a practitioner can achieve on the way to personal salvation. A state of Clear is reached when a person becomes free of the influence of engrams, unwanted emotions or painful traumas not readily available to the conscious mind...
" in 1991) and he is also on the advisory board of Narconon. The University of New Mexico criminologist, Paul Guerin, who carried out a study into Second Chance, was skeptical of the claims made by Paredes: "They need to drop this Mexican study. There's not a program ever that has produced those kinds of results."
As of March 2007, Second Chance was not certified by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF). Second Chance's website lists certifications for Narconon, but none for itself.
See also
- Association for Better Living and EducationAssociation for Better Living and EducationThe Association for Better Living and Education is a non-profit organization headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It states that it is "dedicated to creating a better future for children and communities." It promotes secular uses of L. Ron Hubbard's works, and has been classified as a...
- CriminonCriminonCriminon is a program for rehabilitating prisoners using L. Ron Hubbard's teachings. Criminon International, a non-profit, public-benefit corporation managing the Criminon program, was spawned from Narconon International in 2000, and is part of Association for Better Living and Education's public...
- NarcononNarcononNarconon is a residential program aimed at substance abusers, headquartered in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. It operates through several dozen treatment centers worldwide, chiefly in the United States and Western Europe. Each Narconon center is independently owned and operated under a license...
- PenologyPenologyPenology is a section of criminology that deals with the philosophy and practice of various societies in their attempts to repress criminal activities, and satisfy public opinion via an appropriate treatment regime for persons convicted of criminal offenses.The Oxford English Dictionary defines...
- Politics of Nevada
- United States Senate election in Nevada, 2010United States Senate election in Nevada, 2010-Tarkanian:-Angle:-Polling:Includes current candidates who have polled at least 2% in at least one poll.-Results:-Candidates:*Harry Reid , incumbent U.S...
External links
- The Truth About Second Chance Official site