The kittitas county sheriff's office is applying for funding in the amount of $797,044.67

The Kittitas County Sheriff's Office is awarded a $797,044 Project Grant from the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance under the Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and other Substance Use Program (CFDA 16.838). The grant funding will be used to expand and enhance evidence-based medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder, as well as recovery support services, within the Kittitas County Jail. The project aims to lower recidivism and have a positive impact on the Kittitas County community. Specifically, the grant will support staff training, screening, onsite MAT services including intake, induction, dosing, care coordination, and post-release coordination. A research partner will also be engaged to evaluate the program's effectiveness through participant interviews, MAT retention rates, and recidivism data. This grant builds upon the Sheriff's Office's prior $600,000 award from the Bureau of Justice Assistance's Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Program in 2020.

If funded, the project will serve those incarcerated at the kittitas county jail located in ellensburg, washington including both kittitas county residents as well as other clients from other areas of the state as well. As of 2020, kittitas county has an estimated population of 44,337 and the jail's daily population is steadily rising since the pandemic, but currently an average of 98 people incarcerated daily. The request for this funding is to develop a project that will expand and enhance evidence-based medication for opioid use disorder (moud), as well as recovery support services within the kittitas county jail. The kittitas county jail currently has been working under the award (#2020-AR-BX-0148) for $600,000 from the bureau of justice assistance FY2020 comprehensive opioid, stimulant, and substance abuse program (cossap) and are wanting to continue with the successes they have had, while enhancing the program to continue to lower recidivism and having a positive effect on the entire community they serve. According to the rural health grants eligibility analyzer, kittitas county is eligible for rural health grants. According to the most available stats in 2018, the ration of kittitas county residents to primary care physicians is 1710:1. The university of washington released stats in january of 2023 that states crime lab data for police evidence testing indicate a 186% increase in the number of cases positive for opioids statewide between 2002- and 2018-2020, with increases in most counties. The kittitas county jail houses all persons who are booked within the 2,297.3 square miles and serve all local law enforcement agencies as well as the united state marshalls and washington state department of corrections. The program is designed to enhance and increase staff training, screening, delivery of onsite services including intake, induction, dosing, care coordination and post-release coordination. The kittitas county sheriffs office will seek a moud partner that is committed to enhancing the already established programming and consist of medical providers carrying certifications in addiction and emergency medicine, internal, OB/GYN, and family medicine, as well as other specialties. The program will include a researcher to develop and provide the necessary data as required and to further find ways to increase its capabilities by utilizing a mixed method approach consisting of participant interviews, mat retention rates, and recidivism statistics.