Judge Michelle Lee Bodine-Keely was first appointed district judge of Tulsa and Pawnee Counties in November 2020.  Prior to becoming a judge, she worked as a prosecutor in Tulsa, as well as two neighboring Oklahoma counties, Wagner and Osage. It was as a prosecutor that she had her first experiences with the Women in Recovery program. 

Since becoming a judge, those experiences have multiplied. Not only is she a key participant in the assessment process that determines a woman’s acceptance into the program, but she also meets on a monthly basis with program staff and individual women who come to court to provide input on their progress. These meetings have helped her learn about the different program elements and see the results as program participants periodically visit her courtroom to give the judicial system a view of how they’re doing and alert the courts to any warning signs that could signal a return to jail, adjudication and prison.

B&G: What were your first impressions of the Women in Recovery program?

Judge Keely: To be honest with you, I was very dubious. Here was this new program with wraparound services. They said they wanted to help women and hold them accountable. And I was suspicious of that. 

They proved to me that it really was a worthwhile program.

B&G: What are the factors that helped to change your mind?

Judge Keely: I saw women who had come in with drug problems. They were losing their children and were getting ready to go to prison, and I saw that Women in Recovery was really helping them.

It wasn’t just a group who was there to give them hugs. I saw women being held accountable and really getting better – back with their families; seeing their children; getting off drugs; getting jobs and becoming great members of society.  What I saw really changed my mind about the program.

B&G: What are the ways that Women in Recovery stands out from other prison diversion programs? 

Judge Keely: I think what makes it so distinctive is that it is a wraparound program. It offers housing, education and counseling. It treats a woman as a mother and it also treats her children and helps her children. They go through a culinary class. They provide education and start getting women ready to have employment, but they don’t do that until they’re ready.

So many of these women don’t know how to handle daily life – how to dress themselves or get to work on time. They don’t know and so they teach them, and they do it in a kind and caring way.

B&G: As a judge, you become a pivotal part of the assessment process, which determines the women who can be accepted into the program. What factors contribute to your sense that a woman could benefit from – and succeed – at the program?

Judge Keely: If someone is addicted to drugs, I honestly think she can benefit if she wants to change. If you’re asking if I am good at telling which people are going to be successful and which are not, I’m not going to tell you that. I don’t know. But when somebody has a drug problem and children and it’s not a violent crime, I’m all about ‘Let’s fix this, rather than send you to prison.’ 

There’s a lot of decision-making involved and you have to look at the specifics to see whether it’s a good risk. Sometimes I’ve been right and sometimes I’ve been wrong.

B&G: As a judge, do you often see women who were facing prison that you’ve referred to the program after they’re accepted?

Judge Keely: Yes. All the time. We have monthly reviews. They come in and the counselors and staff at Women in Recovery write a thorough review on how the person is doing. They talk about whether they are ‘employment ready’; if they’re looking for a job or whether they have a job and how they’re doing.

They talk about education. A lot of times I’ll order women to get their GED or Women in Recovery feels they need to get their GED. They’ll talk about their family; whether or not they’re seeing their children or any roadblocks to seeing their kids. 

They discuss how they’re doing on housing and independent living, and they tell me where they are in the counseling area and what’s going on there. And if they’ve had any relapses, they let me know.

If there is a big relapse, they’ll call me and I’ll get involved and we’ll have a discussion about appropriate (actions or consequences).

B&G: If a woman does have a relapse, will you then have an opinion on that? Will they stay in the program?

Judge Keely: Sometimes yes and sometimes no. Women in Recovery generally has a recommendation. Sometimes I agree with it. Sometimes I don’t and sometimes prosecutors or defense attorneys get involved. It depends on what type of relapse and what has really happened. If they ‘use’ one time, that’s one thing; if they run away from the program and cut off their GPS (Global Positioning System) that’s completely different.

B&G: Is it encouraging to you, as a judge, if month after month you’re seeing a woman who could have gone to prison, and you learn about what she’s doing and see improvement? 

Judge Keely: It’s incredibly encouraging. I’ll tell you that I look forward to the Women in Recovery dockets – because they are really happy dockets. I was just talking with a prosecutor and she looks forwards to those dockets, too. She said that when someone wants her to cover a docket for them, her first question will be ‘Is it a Women in Recovery docket’ because she loves getting to do those.

B&G: Can you see this happening in other jurisdictions? Other cities, counties and states?

Judge Keely: Certainly it can be done elsewhere.  It requires money. commitment, and time. The demands on the program staff are immense and this requires cooperation from everybody involved, including (the courts, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and jails). There’s huge cooperation from the community, as well because you have employers who will employ the women from Women in recovery and there are various local places that sell cookies and amazing toffee that the women make in the kitchen.  I really love this program.

#WomenInRecovery #TulsaCounty #WomenInGovernment #WomenHelpingWomen #WomenInLocalGovernment #StateandLocalCriminalJustice #TulsaCountyDistrictCourt #JudgeMichelleKeely #FamilyandChildrenServices #StateandLocalHumanServices #CityandCountyHumanServices #PrisonDiversionForWomen #CountyPublicAdministration #DrugAddictionAndPrisonDiversion #CriminalJusticeDiversionProgram #WagnerCounty #OsageCounty