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Weber County approves jail medication-assisted treatment program with Weber Human Services
Summary
The Weber County Commission on March 18 approved a memorandum of understanding with Weber Human Services to provide medication-assisted treatment (MAT) in the county correctional facility, including one full-time registered nurse and one case manager peer support specialist funded in part by state and county opioid settlement funds.
Weber County commissioners on March 18 approved a memorandum of understanding with Weber Human Services to provide medication-assisted treatment, or MAT, inside the county correctional facility. The agreement funds one full-time registered nurse to manage MAT services and one case manager peer support specialist to provide education about MAT and link people leaving jail to services in the community.
The commission approved the MOU after Chief Philip Rees of the Weber County Sheriff’s Office described the program as the product of an 18-month effort and said the agreement draws on both state and county opioid settlement funds. “This agreement pulls down funds from both the state and the county opioid funds,” Rees said. “It is … putting negative past consequences of our history into really, really good working solutions for our vulnerable population.”
Why it matters: County officials said the program is intended to stabilize people in custody with opioid use disorder and connect them to ongoing treatment after release, a gap county leaders identified in prior meetings. The MOU covers in-jail clinical nursing care for MAT and peer-based case management and reentry support, which commissioners described as a targeted use of opioid-settlement resources.
How the commission acted: Commissioner Jim Harvey moved to approve the memorandum of understanding as presented by Chief Rees; Commissioner Frower seconded the motion. Commissioners present voted in favor and the motion carried.
What the MOU specifies: The commission’s agenda summary and the presentation in the meeting state the agreement provides nursing, case management, and peer-support services within the correctional facility, with the nurse managing MAT services and the case manager offering education and linkage to community services upon reentry. Funding sources cited during the presentation were state and county opioid settlement funds; no exact contract dollar amount was specified in the public presentation.
Context and next steps: Commissioners and the chief framed the program as the product of interagency work and careful use of settlement funds. The MOU was approved on the consent of the commission; no additional conditions or amendments were recorded in the meeting transcript. Implementation details such as start date and reporting requirements were not specified during the presentation and were not included in the public remarks on the record.
The commission adjourned after completing the agenda.
