Rethink opioid addiction treatment to save lives in New Jersey

njreentry.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Published_9_24.pdf

Funded by a $245,500 grant from the federal Bureau of Justice Assistance through the New Jersey State Parole Board, the two-year study will give parolees who are addicted to opioids or have been addicted in the past and overdose or test positive for opioids the option of enrolling in the program or facing normal sanctions for a drug violation. Those who opt in will be assigned a recovery coach and connected to medically assisted treatment through the Reentry Corp.’s Toms River office. Their overall addiction and medical progress will be tracked and compared with that of those who don’t opt in.
“We’re tired of losing lives,” Josie White, the Reentry Corp. social worker who is administering the program, said, noting that the hope is to work with about 75 parolees over the course of two years.