The Washington State Department of Corrections, DOC, has received $677,809 from an opioid abatement settlement to help the agency expand overdose prevention efforts and save lives in communities statewide.
A major portion of the funds were used to purchase, assemble and distribute 10,450 Naloxone kits. Approximately 7,000 kits were distributed to community corrections field offices. Naloxone, also known under the brand name Narcan, is a medication that can quickly reverse effects of an opioid overdose.
Medical studies show the overdose risk is greatest in the weeks immediately following release from prison. Department health experts say equipping staff and incarcerated individuals with these tools helps the department strengthen its role in safeguarding communities while supporting individuals’ recovery.
“The purpose of these funds is to provide resources to save lives,” said Health Services Reentry Administrator, Brooke Amyx. “Community corrections officers see the most overdoses system wide and have not previously been able to supply kits directly to individuals on supervision. Thanks to these funds now they can.”
Amyx added the funds were offered with a short turnaround time and the department was able to make the best use of the funding through multidivisional collaboration. “These funds have greatly expanded our ability to provide necessary resources to those settings.”
The department is offering staff training on Medication for Opioid Use Disorder, MOUD and Naloxone administration. Anyone interested should email Health Services Specialist Taylor Milnor.
About the settlement
DOC is one of several state, local and regional entities who received funding from the $518 million settlement the Attorney General’s Office reached with companies it found played key roles in fueling the opioid epidemic. The Washington State Health Care Authority began distributing those funds at the end of 2022. View a list of FAQs about the Washington Opioid Settlements.
In addition to the Naloxone kits, community corrections field offices will receive 140 wall-mounted emergency naloxone storage boxes and 400 hard shell storage cases for community corrections vehicles. DOC has also purchased 150 methadone lockboxes. Methadone lockboxes are secured personal containers for people releasing into transitional living environments who have been prescribed methadone release medication. The funding also supplied the Wenatchee Valley reentry center with a medical cart that staff will use to distribute medication for addiction treatment.
Educational materials and more
Besides supporting overdose prevention efforts in community field offices, funding will provide training and education for both staff and incarcerated individuals.
The department has purchased a total of 7,872 books about management and recovery from substance use disorders to distribute to staff and incarcerated individuals, which include:
- 5,972 books from the Hazeldon Publishing Company on opioid use disorders and their treatment. Of them, 4,903 books will be given to prisons for direct distribution to incarcerated individuals to aid in their understanding of substance use treatment. 1,069 of the books will go to prison nurses and reentry nurses to provide to incarcerated patients to assist with relapse prevention and recovery focused release planning.
- 1,000 Smart Recovery books about MOUD, medications for opioid use disorder, will be distributed to MOUD nurses and health care staff to provide to incarcerated patients
- A total of 900 Red Road to Wellbriety: In the Native American Way books. This book translates the Alcoholics Anonymous 12-Step program into Native American and cultural terms, offering a holistic journey of recovery and healing from addictions for Indigenous people. The books integrate traditional teachings with spiritual, emotional mental and physical healing. DOC tribal relations staff will distribute the books to incarcerated individuals on request.
The funding will also be used to give incarcerated individuals at four state prisons—Monroe Correctional Complex, Airway Heights Corrections Center, Washington Corrections Center and the Washington Corrections Center for Women access to a digital program compatible with their Securus tablets. The program, called Atlas, is offered through the Change Company. It provides flexible, evidence-based educational resources to program users. The program allows users to engage in self-directed learning, supporting ongoing personal development to assist with substance use disorder.
The program’s digital resources will also be expanded. Currently, users can engage with 84 interactive journals and four podcasts, each containing multiple episodes, to support learning and self-improvement. Starting in October, program users will be able to view more than 200 additional educational videos.
Additionally, the department used some of the settlement funding to provide a pair of 10-hour trainings to 70 correctional nurses, social workers, treatment coordinators, substance use disorder professionals and clinicians to help build skills in motivational interviewing. Motivational interviewing is a technique to connect with patients in a healthcare setting and help foster internal motivations for behavior change.
