The Community Partnership to Expand MAT Services in the Criminal Justice Population in Maricopa County, AZ

The Community Partnership to Expand MAT Services in the Criminal Justice Population in Maricopa County, AZ The Community Partnership to Expand MAT Services in the Criminal Justice Population in Maricopa County, AZ The criminal justice system is struggling to address the needs and manage individuals with 2 Opioid Use Disorders (OUD). Most U.S. correctional facilities do not continue or initiate 3 Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT). As a consequence, the highest rates of opioid overdose 4 occur after release from incarceration. Incarcerated individuals with an OUD are a captive 5 audience, often highly motivated to voluntarily agree to MAT enrollment as an opportunity for 6 court diversion, or upon discharge from jail. Our proposal aims to increase MAT access and 7 other supportive services to individuals with OUD in the criminal justice system. The 8 comprehensive program will include a full array of treatment, coordinated and integrated care, 9 recovery support services, and prevention activities to increase the treatment rate of individuals 10 with OUD encountering the criminal justice system. The population served includes individuals 11 with OUD who are justice involved with the Maricopa County criminal justice system, 12 constituting a very large concentration of individuals with OUD. Maricopa County is the fourth 13 largest county in the United States and home to Phoenix, AZ as well as the fourth largest jail 14 system in the nation. This project will serve 200 persons with OUD annually and 600 persons 15 throughout the lifetime of the project. We have assembled an exceptional partnership dedicated 16 to improving outcomes for both individuals and systems through the use of MAT services. 17 Relevant stakeholders have exceptionally strong commitment and include: the presiding chief 18 justice, the sheriff, chief probation officer of Maricopa County probation, and the medical 19 director of the correctional health system along with community behavioral health providers. 20 Using the Collective Impact Model, the partnership will work to build funding mechanisms and 21 service delivery models to provide improved treatment and recovery support services that 22 effectively treat individuals with OUD and facilitate long-term recovery. 23 There are six major goals that will be accomplished: 1) Increase capacity to identify individuals 24 with OUD in Maricopa County Jail, the Municipal Court, and community probation to provide 25 MAT education/connection to services; 2) Increase early engagement for detained individuals 26 with OUD by Recovery Support Staff (RSS); 3) Increase the number of detained individuals who 27 leave jail with a warm transfer to a MAT provider for immediate connection to an intensive 28 engagement model; 4) Increase identification of incarcerated Native Americans with OUD to 29 increase MAT education and treatment engagement with a culturally informed service model that 30 incorporates traditional healing practices as well as a full continuum of services; 5) Develop an 31 infrastructure for early release and diversion programs with the City of Phoenix Municipal Court 32 for individuals with OUD; and 6) Within the Sequential Intercept Model, implement a successful 33 collective impact initiative. A number of measurable objectives are identified and will be 34 evaluated through a comprehensive, formative, and summative evaluation. 35 The Community Partnership to Expand MAT Services in the Criminal Justice Population in Maricopa County, AZ