Resource Library
August 3, 2021
Incorporating Medication in Opioid Courts: Reducing Overdose Through Triage in Treatment Court Settings
This report is motivated by a desire to improve access to medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD), specialty care, community support services, and peer advocates through opioid courts and other drug treatment courts. It shares lessons from opioid court practitioners and their partners about what quality MOUD care, treatment, and use look like; how to promptly identify potential court participants and provide access to MOUD and specialty care; and how to identify and engage MOUD providers. It also includes descriptions of recent innovations developed during the COVID-19 pandemic that could make it easier to connect patients to MOUD in the future. The goal is to assist practitioners in treatment courts and other settings as they seek to improve access to MOUD and specialty treatment services as part of the criminal legal process.