Individuals exiting prisons and jails have an increased likelihood of opioid overdose. Some corrections systems have chosen to address this risk through the use of reentry programs that incorporate medication-assisted treatment (MAT). While a range of Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Program site-based projects are tackling the opioid epidemic by focusing on the front end of the criminal justice system (for example, through the roles of first responders), several teams are focusing on improving jail- and prison-related strategies.
This webinar will provide an overview – including implementation strategies and lessons learned – of the following jail-based and prison-based MAT reentry programs, respectively:
- Medication Assisted Treatment and Directed Opioid Recovery Program – Middlesex County, Massachusetts: Launched in 2015, the program utilizes naltrexone injections, comprehensive substance abuse counseling, and six months of post-release recovery support to promote long-term recovery from opioid use disorders.
- Substance Abuse-Medication Assisted Treatment – Kentucky Department of Corrections: Begun in 2016 following the establishment of state funds to support substance abuse treatment expansion and MAT, a naltrexone program is made available to high-risk individuals within the prison system who meet certain criteria and had completed a six-month substance abuse treatment program while incarcerated or would complete programming by the time of their release. Individuals who agree to participate in the program begin a seven- to eight-week process, which includes medication but also education and treatment services. Individuals who participate in MAT and those who complete a substance abuse treatment program while incarcerated receive a hand-off in the community to a social service clinician, who assists them in navigating the continuation of MAT as well as other substance abuse services and supports in the community. In addition, participants in substance abuse programming may be eligible to receive good time credits for participation in SAP and MAT, which reduces their periods of incarceration. Recently, the Division of Substance Abuse expanded MAT across the state to all substance abuse treatment programs located in county jail facilities.
Presentation topics will include:
- Program eligibility;
- Screening and assessment;
- Program participant education;
- Physical location within the correctional facility (housing unit versus intermixed);
- Medications utilized;
- Substance abuse treatment programming;
- Other programming and curricula utilized;
- Community partners and external stakeholders;
- Community support; and
- Outcomes and data.
Presenters:
- Sheriff Peter Koutoujian, Middlesex, Massachusetts, Sheriff’s Office; and
- Jeannie Waldridge, Certified Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Counselor, Administrative Branch Manager, Kentucky Department of Corrections, Division of Substance Abuse.