MARION COUNTY, INDIANA, Ind — The Marion County Sheriff's Office plans to make good use of a $1.1 million opioid grant.
The grant from the U.S Department of Justice will be used to expand and fund a Medication-Assisted Treatment program in the Adult Detention Center. That involves the use of FDA-approved medications by health care professionals, in combination with counseling and behavioral therapies, to treat substance use disorders as a medical problem.
“The MAT program is yet another step that we are taking to enhance the medical care in our jail,” said Sheriff Kerry Forestal. “Over 80 percent of our inmates suffer from some sort of substance abuse disorder. If the ADC is going to be the largest mental healthcare center in the state, we want it to be one of the best. We expect this initiative to greatly reduce the complications and risks associated with withdrawals from opioids, and to hopefully provide a bridge to recovery.“
The program will help identify at-risk inmates to get them services to help with keeping them from ending up back in jail. It will focus on three areas: continuation, induction and community connectivity. The community connectivity side of it includes assigning each arrestee to a Discharge Planner who will work to find available community resources and mental health services.