Medication Assisted Treatments

Medication Assisted Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder with Justice Involved Populations

In 2021, NSA received a grant from Alkermes to support the development and delivery of Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) Sheriff-to-Sheriff Peer Mentoring Program.

NSA is developing this program to provide guidance to sheriffs and jail administrators seeking practical examples for implementing MAT for justice involved individuals with substance use disorder, mental illness, and/or co-occurring disorders. The program will be designed with two focus areas: (1) identifying strategies to overcome barriers and successfully provide proper treatment and services to individuals in the facilities; and (2) ensuring robust Continuation of Care plans are being implemented for those who are reentering their communities in order to continue obtaining necessary treatment and community services. The goal of the project is to increase the recovery rate and reduce the recidivism rate of justice involved individuals with substance use disorder and/or mental illness by enhancing care delivery in jails and upon reentry.

In 2016, the National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA) received an Inspiration Grant from Alkermes for a nationwide campaign to heighten awareness among law enforcement of the opioid addiction crisis and introduce Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) as an evidence-based practice to address this substance use disorder within jail settings. It is an honor to announce that NSA has once again been awarded with an Inspiration Grant to develop a Compendium of Model Jail-Based MAT Programs. This resource will give sheriffs examples of ongoing successful programs that can bolster their efforts to initially win the support of policymakers, corrections staff, and treatment providers, and then guide their efforts to implement similar programs. The project’s ultimate goal is to increase the number of MAT programs and thereby decrease the number of individuals, families, and communities devastated by the opioid crisis.

For more information, please contact Kristi Barksdale at kbarksdale@sheriffs.org.