Thursday, November 21, 2024
11/21/2024
The Essex Medication Assisted Treatment (EMAT) project is a collaborative initiative between Volunteers of America Massachusetts (VOAMA) and the Essex County Sherriff’s Department (ECSD) to address the growing need to expand and enhance medication assisted treatment (MAT) services for incarcerated individuals with an opioid use disorder (OUD). The goal of this project is to decrease illicit opioid drug use and prescription opioid misuse, and prevent the re-incarceration of individuals receiving services through this project by building the capacity of ECSD to expand/enhance access to medication-assisted treatment (MAT) and other psychosocial supports and integrated care services for a total of 250 clients over the three-year project period (70 in Year 1, 90 in Year 2 and 90 in Year 3). These individuals must be participating in drug courts, probation, parole, and/or be within four months of release from an ECSD detention facility in Essex County (Middleton House of Corrections, Essex County Pre-release and Re-entry Center or Women in Transition). The project will expand infrastructure and build capacity for state, county and local collaborators to expand MAT and establish additional psychosocial supports and integrated care services. Education and training on signs of opioid use and overdose, as well as the nature, application and implementation of MAT services will also be provided to ECSD officers in order to reduce stigma and promote MAT. Evidenced-based practices for planning, screening and assessment, and treatment include Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (LS/CMI), Comprehensive Addictions and Psychological Evaluation-5 (CAAPE-5), peer recovery support team approaches, cognitive behavioral treatment (CBT), trauma-informed care (TIC), motivational interviewing (MI) and strength-based case management (SbCM). Objectives focus on building the capacity of VOAMA and ECSD to: (1) identify, screen, assess, enroll and retain individuals into the full continuum of MAT-services, and establish an integrated system of care among 13 public and private Task Force partners; (2) increase the number of incarcerated individuals with OUD receiving MAT and other psychosocial supports and integrated care services; (3) decrease illicit opioid drug use and prescription opioid misuse among the project participants; and (4) reduce the recidivism rate of the project participants through the provision of an integrated system of care that is specifically designed for each individual participant’s needs. As required by SAMHSA, participants will complete a six-month follow-up assessment. Advocates for Human Potential (AHP) will serve as the grant evaluators for the project. Key staff are the project director, reentry coordinator, case manager, electronic health record analyst, a team of peer recovery coaches, nurse, phlebotomist and grant evaluator. VOAMA has been working collaboratively with the ECSD for the past five years.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
