Program and reentry staff report sharp rise in MAT enrollments and expanded reentry services

Program and Reentry staff at the Delaware County Jail on January reviewed year-end outcomes showing a sharp rise in medication-assisted treatment (MAT) enrollments in 2024, expanded reentry services and community partnerships, and a range of education and workforce programs offered to incarcerated persons.

Presenters said 2,029 new patients enrolled in MAT during 2024, up from 640 in 2023; staff characterized the increase as substantial and noted operational responses to serve that population, including partnerships with community-based organizations and higher clinical staffing needs. Program staff also reported 110 inductions to MAT and a growing continuum of care for patients receiving treatment while incarcerated.

The Program and Reentry Department highlighted other measures: 64 individuals completed GED coursework in 2024 (annual passage rate reported at 64 percent), one incarcerated career fair drew 148 participants with 18 employer or second-chance employer representatives, and multiple community organizations provided recurring in-facility programming. Staff named partners that included the PA CareerLink/Delaware County Workforce Development, Maternity Care Coalition (19 site visits and 38 appointments), Child and Family Focus (24 site visits; four programs for youthful offenders), Widener University (financial literacy workshops), Thresholds (decision-making course graduates), and EDSI (First Step Vocational Program cohorts).

Program staff also described reentry planning supports funded through county reentry programming: pre-release and post-release services addressing housing, employment, health care, and family support. Presenters said the facility registered 62 incarcerated persons to vote and that 23 returned mail-in ballots. Staff noted the facility offered electronic learning (eLearning) with more than 4,500 completed courses in 2024 and post-release access for some courses.

Why it matters The reported rise in MAT and the breadth of reentry programming reflect a shift in the facility's clinical and programmatic workload and imply continuing needs for clinical staffing, case-management capacity, and external partnerships to sustain post-release continuity of care.

Details and context Program staff said services included GED preparation, anger-management classes, a maternity-care partnership, veteran reentry meetings, mindfulness programming for juveniles, and an Inside Out Prison Exchange college course. Staff noted attrition in case management and training roles but said teams provided more than 20,240 individual case-management services during the year. The department listed hiring priorities including substance-use-disorder counselors, grant-funded positions, a discharge planner, program coordinator, mental-health professional, wellness coordinator, and a central records supervisor.

Board reaction and next steps Board members asked whether higher female representation in treatment meant more women sought services; presenters said women are more likely to seek treatment and that a full housing block of women is dedicated to MAT while men occupy roughly three housing blocks for MAT. Program staff and board members said they will continue to strengthen community partnerships and pursue grant funding to support staffing and continuity-of-care efforts.

Ending Program staff closed by noting several multi-agency collaborations and grant-funded initiatives that will continue into 2025 and by asking the board for support in recruiting and retaining staff to meet increased MAT and reentry caseloads.