CSAC Bulletin Article

Webinar: The Importance of Community Providers in a Successful Jail Medication-Assisted Treatment Program

May 2, 2019

Words to Deeds, a project of the Forensic Mental Health Association of California, will hold a webinar on May 7, 2019 from 10-11 a.m. to inform and educate forensic professionals about using medication-assisted treatment (MAT) in their facilities and coordinating with community providers to keep patients engaged in recovery.

This webinar will feature Sacramento Sheriff’s Department Sacramento County Reentry Services Unit Commander Brad Rose. Lieutenant Rose is responsible for managing vocational, educational and behavioral treatment programs for current and post-release offenders. With a wide variety of experience in narcotics enforcement and offender substance abuse, he became involved in offender programs, including certification in relapse prevention therapy among other courses, which led to his recognition as a subject matter expert in the field of correctional treatment programming.     

Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Sean M. Benedict, Psy.D. will also participate. He serves as both the Associate Medical Director for Integrated Behavioral Health and the Director of the Co-Occurring Continuum for WellSpace Health. In these roles, he leads a staff of more than 100 employees providing mental health, substance use disorder, and behavioral health services throughout the Sacramento Region.  

A recent medication assisted treatment (MAT) guidance to the states from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) stated that “it is important that state and local jurisdictions provide reentry support in the days and months following transition back into the community.” This webinar will offer peer-to-peer insight regarding the challenges and opportunities in directing MAT within a correctional setting including: 

  • How to engage community providers as partners in the program
  • The community provider viewpoint on best practices 
  • How to coordinate care among multiple settings
  • The importance of keeping patients engaged post-incarceration and its impact on recidivism

This webinar is a “must attend” event for those involved in evaluating medication assisted treatment programs for their correctional facilities, especially since the state of California has expressed increasing interest in developing and implementing MAT programs in correctional settings to reduce recidivism. Increased funding and such programs as the Department of Health Care Services MAT Learning Collaborative, geared toward advancing the goal of more MAT programs in county jails, are now available.   

Register here to participate in this important webinar! 

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