People who have been incarcerated are approximately 100 times more likely to die by overdose in the first two weeks after their release than the general public. Despite high rates of opioid use disorder among justice-involved individuals, evidence-based medications exist and can be successfully implemented within jails and prisons.

To reduce risk of opioid overdose and recidivism and to better serve incarcerated individuals with opioid use disorder, the National Council, in partnership with Vital Strategies and faculty from Johns Hopkins University, developed a new resource guide titled: Medication-Assisted Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder in Jails and Prisons: A Planning and Implementation Toolkit.

This toolkit provides correctional administrators and health care providers recommendations and tools for implementing medication-assisted treatment (MAT) in correctional settings and strategies for overcoming challenges. Informed by real-world practice, the toolkit provides examples from the field that can be widely applied and adapted.

The National Council for Behavioural Health is running a webinar on February 25, 2020 at 2pm ET that will provide further information about the toolkit.