• To develop self-discipline and impulse control
• To develop genuine empathy and compassion for others
• To achieve success and satisfaction in their personal and work life
• To become role models for new and junior residents
• To become responsible and productive members of society

The HOPE slogan is:

"I create how I feel by how I think about the people and events around me. I am the only one who can change the way I feel by changing the way I think."

This reflects the cognitive therapy emphasis and belief in changing lives by changing attitudes. It also reflects the HOPE belief in accepting personal responsibility for one's own life and what happens in it.

Each community member in HOPE, from the newest resident to the long-time therapeutic community leader, is seen as a valued, person of worth with something important to offer and contribute to the community. All have made mistakes and committed offenses, but all can change. Each can raise their awareness of the impact their actions have had and now have on others. Each can develop empathy for other people affected by their actions. Daily living in a therapeutic community reinforces the symbiotic (interdependent) lives we all live in society. Each resident and staff member has an obligation to be mindful of how the "whole" is affected by the individual "parts."

In the therapeutic community, therapy is provided by the community environment, sometimes called the "milieu" (French for environment or setting). The community, not the therapist or the treatment team, is the center and foundation of treatment. A TC intentionally uses the community as the primary method for facilitating social and psychological change in individual residents. As stated before, in this treatment design, therapists are "satellites" overseeing the process, sitting in on meetings, encounters, and some groups. Beyond the initial clinical assessment, very little individual therapy is done in HOPE as the program and community bring about the change in the resident. The staff's focus is on managing and maintaining the structural integrity of the therapeutic community.

Section rules are related to pro-social behavior patterns residents are expected to adopt gradually. They are similar to society's expectations. By rules, residents hold one another accountable, learn to give one another constructive and assertive feedback, and create a safe and predictable community that allows room for personal growth and recovery to occur. Examples include

• Follow instructions
• Be punctual
• Maintain appropriate appearance
• Use proper manners

HOPE residents are carefully screened for participation in the program based on their offense history, their programming needs and their suitability for dormitory-style living. HOPE expects each resident to follow a strict "NO VIOLENCE" policy. Those residents with mental health diagnoses are treated to maintain remission of their symptoms.

Residents show responsible concern when they encourage others to follow institutional and HOPE program rules and adopt expectations of right living. They also develop appropriate assertiveness skills in challenging criminal thinking and behavior. Residents appropriately use their feedback to correct other inmates who do not follow program rules, using the TC process of "making calls, using table interventions and encounters" to resolve daily issues and to develop and model assertive communication and problem-solving skills.

The HOPE Program is expected to take 14 to 16 months to complete. Some inmates may graduate in a year. Some offenders may take longer than this to complete the essential assignments, while others may stay longer to serve in leadership roles in the therapeutic community to share what they have learned. The strength of a TC is largely the strength of its veteran residents, who provide good, direct feedback and good strong role modeling.

HOPE residents are expected to be the best-behaved and hardest working inmates in the institution. Residents will complete an intensive track (in two two-month stages) and then are invited to go to school (high school or college classes) or work in CUCF jobs. In order to apply for a job, residents must have completed the intensive phase and hold a Step Three in the HOPE program, which generally corresponds to the number of written assignments the inmate has completed. They are also expected to be working on their education if they have not completed a GED or have a high school diploma.

HOPE classes during the first four months are called the intensive tracks. For four months, new residents will take intensive classes taught by residents who are farther along in the program. Later on, newer residents will have a chance to teach the classes and pass along what they have learned. The HOPE Curriculum of Classes includes:

• Relapse Prevention
• Interpersonal Skills
• AA Twelve-Step/ LDS Twelve-Step /Native American Twelve-Step
• Anger Management
• Stress Management
• Cognitive Restructuring (Thinking Errors)
• Saving Marriage
• Parenting
• Relationship Building
• Core Values
• Games
• Stages of Recovery
• Physical Training (PT)
• Bradshaw (Family)
• Conflict Resolution
• Parole Planning

HOPE residents are referred to outpatient substance abuse and to self-help meetings when they leave the program. If inmates graduate from the HOPE program, they are not usually referred to residential treatment while on parole. If they participate for a period of four to 11 months, but do not graduate, inmates receive a certificate of participation and not a certificate of graduation. They will be referred to intensive outpatient treatment or possibly residential treatment. If they graduate, they are referred to aftercare only. Offenders coordinate this treatment through their parole officers, and are responsible to them for their follow-through with treatment.