The Washington State Opioid and Overdose Treatment Court Response Plan: Equity in Training and Treatment

The Washington State Opioid and Overdose Treatment Court Response Plan

Washington State Health Care Authority (HCA) seeks $1,500,000 under Category 4 of the BJA FY 2021 Adult Drug Court and Veterans Treatment Court Discretionary Grant Program to develop and implement the Washington State Opioid and Overdose Treatment Court Response Plan. This initiative will provide Washington’s pre- and post-adjudication adult drug courts and veterans treatment courts with the training and resources they need to improve statewide adherence to the national best practice standards while simultaneously addressing overdose risk among target populations in marginalized and under-served communities. HCA and the Center for Court Innovation (the Center) will work together to implement data-driven initiatives which will serve Washington’s 31 adult drug courts and 12 veterans treatment courts, which are staffed by over 200 practitioners and serve over 3000 participants annually. The funding will be used to address several of BJA’s stated priorities:

Using results of a Best Practices Assessment conducted by NPC Research, HCA and The Center will develop and implement new statewide training protocols that expand state-based training and technical assistance (TTA) capacity and remote training opportunities (Key Component #9).
Utilizing current research in the field of risk needs responsivity, HCA and The Center will refine screening and assessment protocols to ensure Washington’s treatment courts are serving high-risk/high-need individual and provide swift program entry (Key Component #3).
Compiling data to develop targeted strategies to address equity and inclusion challenges in Washington’s treatment courts, focusing on current referral and admission data which indicate that BIPOC have inequitable access to diversion alternatives (Key Component #3).
Improve access to Medications for Opioid Use Disorder (MAT), particularly in under-served jurisdictions disproportionately impacted by overdose morbidity and mortality (Key Component #1, 3, 10).

Primary activities will include the development and use of surveys, needs assessments, resource maps, and data collection tools for measuring performance. The primary deliverables include the following:

New state-based training protocols (including curricula, calendar, speaker collective, audio/visual content, and dedicated web site);
Target population needs assessment report (with findings and recommendations for improving screening and assessment);
Treatment court fact sheet and referral guide to aid in law enforcement referral;
Statewide Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion assessment and facilitated workshop;
Overdose and MAT resource mapping; and,
Implementation of two pilot sites which will provide rapid engagement for Drug Court Participants coupled with the inclusion of peer support.

These deliverables will address the following National Association of Drug Court Professional’s Best Practice Standards I (pp. 9-12), II (pp. 12-15), V (pp. 15-19), VIII-F (pp. 4-9) and X (pp. 20-21). Furthermore, all of Washington’s treatment courts will benefit from the new training protocols (with MAT as a priority topic), and the MAT treatment enhancements through piloted programs will target treatment court participants in rural, high-poverty, and/or Tribal communities facing service gaps. Enhancements will involve targeted TA from the Center to help develop and expand MAT provider capacity and coordination of care with linkages to treatment.