Evidence-Based SUD Treatment

The Kittitas County Sheriff's Office is applying for funding in the amount of
$797,044.67. 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 Sheriff’s 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.