Department of Human Services | Murphy Administration Awards $7.8M to County Jails to Support Opioid Addiction Treatment
skip to main contentskip to main navigation
 
State of New Jersey Deapartment of Human Services  
 
 
State of New Jersey Deapartment of Human Services
Logo: Get Covered NJ
NJ Department of Human Services Twitter page
NJ Department of Human Services Facebook page
NJ 211 Community Resource Website
New Jersey Helps
New Jersey Career Connections

Jan. 9, 2020

 

(TRENTON) – New Jersey Human Services Commissioner Carole Johnson and Acting Corrections Commissioner Marcus Hicks, in collaboration with Acting Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli, today announced State funding awards totaling $7.8 million to county correctional facilities to provide medication-assisted opioid treatment to individuals with opioid addiction in county jails. The funding will also create the critical community partnerships to ensure that treatment continues post-release. Medication-assisted opioid treatment is the clinical standard of care for opioid addiction.  Funding is made possible through Governor Murphy’s Opioid Initiative.

“Individuals leaving jail are particularly vulnerable to opioid overdose, and the death rate post-release from jail is significantly higher than in the overall population,” Human Services Commissioner Carole Johnson said. “It is imperative that we treat people with opioid use disorder with the clinical standard of care before they are released and maintain treatment post-release. We are pleased that the County Wardens are partnering with us in this critical effort to provide medication-assisted opioid treatment.  We look forward to working together with them to turn the tide of this epidemic.”

“Individuals who suffer from substance use disorder that are existing county correctional facilities are particularly vulnerable to overdose,” said Acting Commissioner Marcus O. Hicks, Esq.  “This collaboration that includes Medication-Assisted Treatment and critical support post-release is imperative to maintaining these individuals on a recovery trajectory.”

This initiative builds on New Jersey’s prison medication-assisted opioid treatment program, where Human Services and the Department of Corrections partner to bring addiction treatment into state prisons. The collaboration is providing peer services that expand pre- and post-release recovery support services to individuals within the Department of Corrections with an opioid use disorder or other substance use, and facilitates continuity of care and treatment that includes comprehensive medical, substance use treatment and social services.

“Through this powerful collaboration, we are connecting them to lifesaving treatment at a catalytic moment and getting individuals back on track to leading healthy and fulfilling lives,” said Acting Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli. “From a public health perspective, it is these types of bold and evidence-based initiatives that will ultimately lead to reducing the stigma around the epidemic and getting us to the other side.”

The first phase of this initiative was a pilot program in Atlantic County supported by the Department of Human Services through which the Atlantic County jail began providing medication-assisted treatment to individuals in the facility with opioid use disorder and connecting them to treatment post-release.  The county jail partners with the John Brooks Recovery Center.

 

County Awards:

 

County

Jail Funding

Atlantic

$500,000

Bergen

$500,000

Burlington

$400,000

Camden

$600,000

Cape May

$300,000

Cumberland

$400,000

Essex

$700,000

Gloucester

$300,000

Hudson

$600,000

Hunterdon

$150,000

Mercer

$450,000

Middlesex

$450,000

Morris

$250,000

Ocean

$400,000

Passaic

$500,000

Salem

$250,000

Somerset

$300,000

Sussex

$150,000

Union

$450,000

Warren

$150,000

Total

$7,800,000

 
OPRA - Open Public Records Act NJ Home Logo
Department: DHS Home  |  DHS Services A to Z  |  Consumers & Clients - Individuals and Families  |  Important Resources  |  Divisions & Offices  |  Commissioner & Key Staff  |  Disaster & Emergency Help & Information  |  Press Releases, Public and Legislative Affairs, & Publications  |  Providers & Stakeholders: Contracts, Legal Notices, Licensing, MedComms  |  Get Involved with DHS!  |  Notice of Non-Discrimination  |  Taglines for Language Services
Statewide: NJHome  |  Services A to Z  |  Departments/Agencies  |  FAQs
 
Copyright © State of New Jersey, 1996 -