On behalf of the holyoke and chicopee district courts of massachusetts, the administrative office of the trial court (aotc) and key stakeholders are seeking funding to support a project entitled…

On behalf of the holyoke and chicopee district courts of massachusetts, the administrative office of the trial court (aotc) and key stakeholders are seeking funding to support a project entitled chicopee and holyoke access to treatment and services (chats). The purpose of the chats project is to strengthen the ability of the holyoke and chicopee district courts to serve court-involved individuals with opioid use disorder through timely and culturally sensitive treatment and supportive recovery services that begin during pretrial criminal justice processing. Through a proposed partnership with gandara center as a culturally specific organization, the chats project will assist court-involved individuals with opioid use disorder through the services of a recovery coach and a recovery support coordinator, who will be immediately available at the courthouses to link justice-involved individuals to community-based providers for medications for opioid use disorder (moud) and other health and social services pretrial. The need to expand opportunities for court-involved individuals to receive treatment early in the criminal justice process was recognized in the criminal reform act of 2018. However, these statutory amendments depend upon the early assessment of an opioid use disorder and needs assessments that courts do not have the ability or the resources to perform and individuals cannot readily access on their own. The project goals include implementing a peer recovery support system for at least 150 individuals, reducing recidivism rates for program participants by 20 percent, and building infrastructure for a recovery-rich community that meets the needs of courtinvolved hispanic community members. University of massachusetts amherst school of public health and health sciences will serve as the evaluator, facilitating data collection regarding participation and engagement, outcomes, and the development of tools to support replication. The chats project will promote positive outcomes and improve public safety by reducing recidivism. With the development of effective and sustainable practices and collaborations, this project will fill a much-needed service GAP in the holyoke and chicopee communities.