JUST Recovery = JUdicial Substance Treatment & Recovery - Over half of individuals who are incarcerated have a substance use disorder (SUD), and risk of overdose is 10-40 fold greater among persons recently released from incarceration. Programs have been established within the jail and correctional system to provide treatment, but individuals face major barriers accessing care post release, placing them at risk for illicit drug use, health complications, and recidivism. The Judicial Substance Treatment & Recovery (JUST Recovery) program will establish a partnership between Denver Health (DH) and the Denver Problem Solving Courts (PSC; drug courts) to ensure persons within the criminal justice system with SUDs receive support for standardized treatment with Medications for Addiction Treatment (MAT), psychotherapy, and connections to address health-related social needs (HRSN) while incarcerated and following release to the community. JUST Recovery will apply evidence-based practices for assessment and treatment planning, case coordination, and SUD and behavioral health treatment, including providing in-reach and out-reach support by a peer recovery specialist. The program aims to serve 100 individual adults (male and female) with SUD annually over the 5-year program period (500 individuals total). Based on current sociodemographics of clients within the three PSC programs, the program will serve a population that is mostly male (84.8%); of which 46.1% racially identify as White; 27.1% identify as Black; 25.4% identify as Hispanic; and 1.4% identify as American Indian/Alaskan Native. The key outcomes of the program are treatment engagement, linkage to treatment and community supports for HRSN post-release, treatment retention, recovery, and recidivism. The program will accomplish these goals, under direction of the Program Director, through the hiring of a dedicated therapeutic case worker (TCW), 2 Assistant Case Coordinators (ACCs), and a peer recovery specialist (PRS). These positions will be integrated into existing DH clinical workflows and complemented by the DH integrated healthcare delivery system, which includes a Trauma 1 Hospital, 11 federally-qualified health centers, emergency medical services and departments, the Center for Addiction Medicine, Outpatient Behavioral Health Services, a detoxification center, and a public health institute. Assessment tools will include evidence-based practices that are part of standard case management and treatment within the PSC and DH (e.g., Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (LSI/CMI), Adult Substance Use Survey Revised (ASUS-R), Mini- Mental Status Examination (MMSE), American Society of Addiction Medicine Criteria (ASAM), provision of MAT), and will be expanded to include the Recovery Capital Index (RCI) to inform treatment planning, measures of the health, behavioral, and social impact of SUD use,social connectedness, HRSN, and the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) Assessment. Data from PSC will include all arrests and charges for the state of Colorado and will allow for assessment of criminal justice involvement and recidivism. The long-term goal is to strengthen our DH infrastructure and program delivery to ensure timely, equitable, and accessible treatment and support to foster recovery among persons with SUD who are part of the criminal justice system.
