The sheriff asked the Berrien County Board to approve an amendment and contract to expand a medication-assisted treatment (MAT) pilot and to add a HIPAA-compliant inmate-tablet platform for use in the jail.

The sheriff said the MAT expansion builds on a pilot and involves contracts with CorWell (treatment services) and Harbour Town, and that some operational issues raised in the pilot—such as HIPAA compliance—have been addressed. The sheriff described the inmate-tablet platform from Biopath (referred to as a vendor for inmate phones/tablet services) as HIPAA compliant and said the platform will be “on every tablet inside the jail,” improving therapy access between CorWell and Harbour Town.

“I’m asking for it to be approved by the full board today,” the sheriff said, describing a contract amendment to an existing 02/2023 contract tied to the tablets. The sheriff said the vendor platform is superior for therapy delivery and that the county will need a contract in place for the vendor to proceed.

Commissioners and other officials asked for clarity about total dollar amounts and contract terms. A commissioner asked for the total program dollar amount and the length of the commitment; the sheriff said the pilot had been budgeted at $15,000 per month split between providers (with CorWell’s share adjusted to $6,500 in some locations) and that the standing approach would be to renew contract terms annually. Corporate counsel noted the contracts include automatic one-year renewals and that the opioid-oversight committee should monitor future funding decisions because renewals could commit opioid-settlement dollars in subsequent years unless the committee declines to fund them and proper notice is provided.

The sheriff said the program is expected to be funded with opioid settlement dollars and that language was added to the resolution drafts to record that funding source for future transparency. “The language that I asked her to add was essentially just a clear statement at the bottom of the 2 resolutions that just note the board is authorizing these programs to be funded with your opioid settlement funds,” the sheriff said.

Corporate counsel explained the renewal process: “The contracts do have automatic 1 year renewals. So the opioid oversight committee will need to pay attention to the decision to fund it in future years,” counsel said, adding that if the county later decides not to fund a renewal, notice must be provided before the term ends.

Commissioners discussed oversight and the opioid settlement committee’s role; one commissioner said if funding beyond three years is being considered the matter should return to the opioid-settlement committee for review. No formal vote to approve the contracts was recorded in the Committee of the Whole meeting minutes included in the transcript.

Why it matters: The contracts would expand MAT services in county correctional settings and commit opioid-settlement dollars; the renewal language and term length determine whether future opioid-settlement funds will be automatically committed.