The criminal justice system is an ad hoc behavioral health service provider for justice-involved populations. Yet, fewer than 10% of justice-involved individuals are able to access behavioral health services on any given day regardless of setting. The National Institute on Drug Abuse?s (NIDA) Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network (JCOIN) provides an opportunity to advance the justice system as a provider of services, particularly for those with opioid use disorder. The Administrative (Admin) Core of the Mason Coordination and Translation Center (MCTC) will serve as the communication hub for JCOIN. Dr. Faye S. Taxman (George Mason University [Mason]) with Ms. Amy Murphy (Mason) and Mr. Mark O?Brien (Addiction Policy Forum [APF]), will lead the Admin Core. All have extensive experience with coordinating large scale networks of stakeholders across diverse disciplines. Besides providing daily support to JCOIN, the Admin Core will provide NIDA, the Steering Committee (SC), external stakeholders, Clinical Research Centers (CRC), Methodology and Advanced Analytics Resource Center (MAARC), and other MCTC Cores with resources and organizational structure to facilitate all JCOIN activities. The Admin Core will promote collaboration among grantees and stakeholders, and provide timely updates to internal and external stakeholders on the state of the science, all with the goal of expanding access to promising interventions and approaches to improve the capacity of the justice system to effectively respond to the opioid epidemic. The Core will develop and implement a communication strategy for JCOIN; develop and maintain internal and external websites housing information from the SC, CRCs, MAARC, and other MCTC Cores; develop a smart app for JCOIN resources; promote JCOIN activities, including other MCTC Cores, through conferences, social media, and web presence; host a ?JCOIN Seminar? series at a minimum of six stakeholder conferences a year; establish and maintain committees to support JCOIN activities; and host SC meetings. The Admin Core will provide NIDA with timely information and tools to monitor and promote JCOIN progress and findings, including monthly reports. The Admin Core draws from a diverse team to achieve the goals of JCOIN. The broad expertise and significant experience of Drs. Taxman and Molfenter in research-practitioner partnerships coupled with APF (O?Brien) and Center for Health & Justice (Pam Rodriquez)?s deep reach in the stakeholder justice health communities will ensure that the Admin Core can and will disseminate JCOIN work and build capacity for uptake of JCOIN study findings into practice. The discipline diverse team?academics, practitioners, policy makers, technical assistance providers--will extend the reach of MCTC to the broader community for the benefit of JCOIN. The Admin Core will provide internal structure to facilitate timely, engaging communication among all Cores and partners. By using modern technology along with strong interpersonal approaches, the Admin Core will facilitate JCOIN goals.
The highest concentration of opioid users is in the criminal justice system (CJS). Justice involved OUD are less likely to receive evidence-based treatments which increases overdoses, treatment failures, and recidivism. Improvements in services offered through the justice system will reduce social costs and improve quality of life.
