Opioids have impacted countless lives, both locally and in neighboring communities. Yet, a new drug diversion program should decrease some of those negative effects, potentially reducing rates of incarceration, separation from family, overdose and even death.
Details about the collaborative effort between Clay and Graham County governments were provided by a press release from the Clay County Health Department and the office of Clay County Sheriff Bobby Deese. “The two counties have combined resources and teamed up to assist with the difficult battle against the opioid epidemic and the devastating statistics on fatal overdoses post release from incarceration,” the press release says. “Spearheaded by the Clay and Graham County Health Departments, they partnered with their respective sheriffs’ offices, the North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition and MAHEC to bring much needed services into the region with the award of the Community Linkages to Care for Overdose Prevention and Response grant totaling $275,000 over the next three years.” MAHEC is Mountain Area Health Education Center, based in Asheville.
Modeled after other L.E.A.D. or Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion programs being used in communities like Haywood County, this program’s full name will be the Tony
Ellis Addiction and case Management Law Enforcement Diversion Program, known as TEAM LED. “Named in effort to honor a pillar of the community who worked day-in and day-out on the prevention of substance use disorders and resources for those in recovery,” the press release explained. The late Tony Ellis was a Clay County sheriff’s deputy and school resource officer for many years, but he also worked with local recovery groups and was a member of the prevention coalition.
Sheriff Deese and Clay County’s Director of Public Health Stephanie Johnson, shared more information. “It has often been argued to just lock offenders up and that will solve the illegal drug problem,” Johnson said. “People arrested do stay free from controlled substances while they are incarcerated, but what happens next? Once they are released from jail, if they go back to the same environment they came from, then their addiction starts all over again.”
Deese added, “Incarcerating people for drug-related offenses has been shown to have little impact on substance misuse rates.” Statistics actually show someone is 13 times more likely to die in the first two weeks after being released from prison than an individual in the general population. Plus, the risk is 129 percent higher for someone to die of overdose with two weeks of being released than for the general public.
TEAM LED will be like a LEAD program; however, it will incorporate drug-testing. The voluntary program, designed for offenders with low level misdemeanors, will be assisted by a paid peer support specialist who will link people to recovery while a health educator will teach participants important health-related information.
Diversion programs implemented around the country have shown positive results. Some of the statistics were included on the press release and another data sheet:
• Individuals in LEAD programs were 58 percent less likely to be rearrested, compared to those in the criminal justice system.
• LEAD participants on average spent 39 fewer days in jail annually.
• They were 87 percent less likely to be incarcerated in prison.
• Criminal and legal system costs were reduced by $2,100 annually for each LEAD participant.
• At the same time, average annual cost for nonparticipants increased by $5,961 per person.
• Participants are 33 more likely to have income and 46 more likely to be employed or receiving vocational training.
• They are 89 percent more likely to have permanent housing, compared to the previous month.
More than 70 million dollars have been spent by the state of North Carolina to incarcerate people for drug possession. In 2015, the average cost to the state was $30,180 per person incarcerated. Meanwhile in Clay County, 24 percent of the 536 criminal charges between April 1 and Oct. 27, 2019 would have qualified for a diversion program.
The average arrest rate per individual in Clay was three times between January 2018 and June 2019. Housing one justice-involved person in the Clay County Detention Center costs about $1,318.60 per day when all costs like meals, utilities, officer salaries and more are figured. That puts the average cost of a stay per individual at $22,382.20 and the average combined stays per individual at $67, 146.60.
According to the press release, “Outcomes should reduce taxpayer-based funding for housing individuals, provide faster court dates for higher-level offenders and give more time for law enforcement to address high-level offenders and criminal offenses. It also will increase population health and decrease recidivism rates by addressing core issues resulting in better family and economic outcomes.”
The CLC grant funds will increase citizens’ educational opportunities for training about overdose prevention efforts like Narcan/naloxone administration. In addition, people can receive information about services for care, treatment and recovery. Some funding will also be available for short-term housing options to people post-release. “They can have a chance for a fresh start outside of the environment they came from,” the press release ended.
“We intend to get started right away in January, but the first weeks will be spent training our law enforcement personnel,” Johnson ended. “This is going to be a conscious effort.”
More information will be available soon. The press release provided these websites as reference:
Shelli B. Rossman and others, “The Multi-Site Adult Drug Court Evaluation: Executive Summary” (Washington: The Urban Institute, 2013) available at https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/237108.pdf.