News

Officials will tour treatment facility, discuss benefits of jail-based addiction treatment

WHAT: Department of Health Commissioner Shereef Elnahal and Department of Corrections Acting Commissioner Marcus O. Hicks, Esq., will tour the John Brooks Recovery Center and hold a roundtable discussion with the Atlantic County Jail warden, a Superior Court judge, and clients about the benefits of Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) to the incarcerated population.

WHEN: August 6, 2018. 1:30 – 3:00 p.m.

Tour: 1:30-2:00 p.m.; roundtable, 2-3:00 p.m.

Press will be given the opportunity to ask questions of the participants after the roundtable.

WHERE: John Brooks Recovery Center (JBRC), 660 Blackhorse Pike, Pleasantville, N.J.

Participants in the roundtable include:

• DOH Commissioner Shereef Elnahal
• Department of Corrections Acting Commissioner Marcus O. Hicks, Esq.,
• Dr. Herbert Kaldany, New Jersey Department of Corrections' Director of Psychiatry and Addiction Services
• Integrated Branch Services Deputy Commissioner Deborah Hartel
• Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services Assistant Commissioner Valerie Mielke
• John Brooks Recovery Center Chief Executive Officer Alan Oberman
• Superior Court Judge Mark Sandson
• Atlantic County Jail Warden David Kelsey
• Atlantic County Freeholder Chairman Frank Formica
• JBRC Associate Director of Outpatient Services Carolann Caviola
• JBRC Inmate Services Supervisor Jane Calabrese
• JBRC Executive Director of Operations Mike Santillo
• MAT clients

Background:

On average, between 70-80% of people who are incarcerated have a substance use disorder, and in New Jersey, 80 percent of inmates with Substance Use Disorder (SUD) were under the influence when they committed their crime; and 75% of inmates with opioid-use disorder relapse within three months of release.

Individuals released from incarceration are more than 120 times more likely to die from an opioid overdose death upon release than the general population.

The Department of Health and the Department of Corrections will be announcing very promising interim results of integration of Substance Abuse Treatment including MAT to individuals across the trajectory of the criminal justice system.

John Brooks Recovery Center, licensed for two of the 32 licensed Opioid Treatment Programs (OTPs) in the state, currently provides MAT services to 36 inmates with an Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) at the Atlantic County Jail via a mobile van, which operates out of JBRC and also provides extensive treatment services at its facilities in Pleasantville and Atlantic City.

Since inception of the program in July 2017, 345 AC Jail inmates with an OUD have been provided MAT services.

The Department’s Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) provides JBRC with $343,713 to operate its jail program and $3 million in overall DMHAS funding.

Mid-State Correctional Facility is the New Jersey’s first licensed, clinically-driven Substance Use Disorder treatment program for state-sentenced inmates. Upon entering the NJDOC system, each inmate is clinically assessed for substance use and those identified to have a Substance Use Disorder undergo a comprehensive assessment to evaluate the level of treatment needed. If a male inmate qualifies, they can voluntarily join the Substance Use Disorder treatment program at Mid-State Correctional Facility, which has a capacity of nearly 700 beds. Female inmates who qualify for substance use disorder treatment are offered an equivalent licensed program at Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women.

Treatment through the NJDOC also incorporates Medication-Assisted Treatment, in conjunction with behavior therapy, as needed.