Upcoming SAMHSA Webinar Offers Advice for Drug Treatment Courts During Pandemic

There are currently 59 recovery courts in 32 counties in North Carolina, and thousands more across the nation designed to help criminal defendants who have alcohol and other substance use disorders. Many of those courts have been successfully using teleservices to increase client access during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is hosting a webinar next week about how drug treatment courts are adapting to the pandemic.

The webinar is "Transform to Teleservices: Part II – Innovative Approaches to Substance Use Disorder Treatment Happening Now in Drug Courts," and it will be held from 1 to 2:30 p.m., Aug. 18. Here's the description:

"Several drug courts across the country have successfully leveraged teleservices in order to increase client access to medication-assisted treatment as well as a range of evidence-based psychosocial supports for the treatment of substance use disorders (SUD). Part II of this Virtual Learning Community webinar series will feature presentations from drug court practitioners and substance use treatment providers who will outline the various approaches they have taken to integrate teleservices in drug court. Case examples will illustrate several unique models of implementation, including

• development of a comprehensive teleservices track in drug court,
• drug court partnerships with distance-based SUD telemedicine providers,
• drug court partnerships with community-based SUD treatment providers who offer remote services, and
• the integration of virtual counseling platforms.”

Speakers are from programs in New York, California, Montana, Missouri, and Michigan. Interested individuals can register here.

For more about the intersection of behavioral health and criminal justice, visit the Center for Science and Justice's website.