The opening of the new Butler County Prison, whenever that finally happens, will mark a milestone. Beyond the project's well-publicized financial and construction headaches, the new facility in Butler will replace an aging, overcrowded prison that was not serving the best interests of anyone — inmates, prison employees or the public.

Along with the opening of the new prison, there is expected to be a new program for working with inmates to reduce the likelihood that they will return to prison after their release.

Earlier this week, a study conducted by a University of Pittsburgh researcher showed that providing enhanced services to inmates at the Allegheny County Jail cut recidivism by about half, from 33 percent to 16.5 percent.

Efforts to help prisoners adjust to a normal, productive life when they are released from prison, rather than engage again in criminal activity and return to jail after another arrest, is a benefit on several levels. People in the community benefit by not having released inmates return to illegal, oftentimes dangerous activities, and taxpayers save money by not having the former inmate again become involved with police and the criminal justice system.

Helping inmates avoid returning to prison is a win-win situation from both a moral and financial perspective.

And officials in Butler County are working on developing a program that will do that by providing a coordinated array of services, in conjunction with various social service agencies in the community, from the moment the prisoner enters the jail and following his or her release.

There is growing evidence across the country that the old attitude of "lock 'em up and throw away the key" does not work. And the costs of building more prisons and funding ever-increasing budgets for police and court systems are a burden on taxpayers.

According to Marty Fleischer, criminal justice planner in Butler County court administration, the program here is being developed with the help of the National Institute of Corrections. Basing Butler County's program on what works elsewhere makes sense, and presenting a well-researched and solid plan should help the county when it comes to getting state or federal grant money to help fund the program.

A few of the elements of what is hoped to be offered when the new prison opens are available to inmates now, but the system is loosely structured and the physical limitations of the old prison restrict what can be done.

The new rehabilitation program will be aimed at nonviolent offenders, and most likely will be dominated by people with drug or alcohol problems, as well as psychological issues. Many participants will likely be people who commit misdemeanors like retail theft. And among this subset of inmates in the prison, only those who want help will take part in the program.

It's not surprising that structured, comprehensive assistance in terms of drug and alcohol treatment, anger management, educational offerings and assistance in finding housing reduces the probability that a prisoner will return to jail after his or her release. The Pitt study is only the latest report to offer proof.

Fleischer is not alone in developing the enhanced inmate re-entry system; other county officials, including judges and prison warden Rich Gigliotti, are wisely backing the efforts of the Criminal Justice Advisory Board that are on a timetable to roughly correspond with the completion of the prison. So when the new prison is up and running, a new, more-formalized and enhanced inmate re-entry program will also be implemented.

Butler County officials are on the right track in terms of developing an effective prisoner re-entry program to equip people with the skills and support necessary to leave prison as a productive member of society — and to avoid future encounters with the criminal justice system.