Spokane County expands sobering-to-treatment program with STARS using opioid settlement funds

Spokane County and Spokane Treatment and Recovery Services (STARS) are expanding a sobering-to-treatment pathway known as STAT (Sobering, Triage and Transition), funded in part by Washington state opioid settlement dollars and a joint investment from the county and the City of Spokane.

County Commissioner Chris Jordan said the county’s commitment “at this stage is over $1,400,000 including capital and operating,” and that the city is contributing $400,000 to increase capacity for the program. According to the Spokane County Medical Examiner, 352 people in Spokane County died of drug overdoses in 2024, and 76 percent of those deaths were fentanyl-related — figures county officials said helped shape the decision to scale services.

The STAT program provides a place for people who are acutely intoxicated to receive immediate care, a clinical assessment and a direct transition to withdrawal management or other levels of treatment, officials said. “STAT is an innovative program that, as Justin knows, is really close to my heart,” said Ryan Kent, executive director of STARS, describing STAT as a site that accepts people while they are still under the influence and offers an on-site handoff into withdrawal management and other services.

Justin Johnson, Spokane County’s community services director, said the county launched the expanded effort in late 2024 and that STAT operations stabilized in December. “Since December 1, we’ve seen over a thousand individuals receive a service,” Johnson said. He added that about 80 percent of those individuals have been referred into another level of care — from inpatient placement to same-day medication-assisted treatment appointments — and that the program’s 30-to-60-day recidivism rate is roughly 12 to 15 percent.

STARS staff described multiple referral pathways into STAT, including family drop-offs, self-referrals via a doorbell at the facility, outreach by a community response vehicle (CAR 50) and coordination with regional law enforcement and fire dispatch. Ryan Kent said the proximity of services helps: the STAT intake area and withdrawal-management beds are in the same building, which makes immediate handoffs simpler for clients.

STARS provides a continuum of care beyond STAT: withdrawal management (commonly called detox, typically three to five days), longer-term residential programs such as Karen’s House and Cub House (30–90 days), intensive outpatient programs and case management for housing and employment. “Each person’s service plan is individualized,” Kent said.

A STARS peer specialist who identified themselves as Bobby Smith described the role of lived experience in recovery support. “I am a recovering addict alcoholic. I was dual diagnosed. I’m coming up on 18 years of recovery,” Bobby said, and added that family support and nonjudgmental staff are important parts of staying sober.

Officials said STARS is one of several contracted providers in a regional network covering multiple counties; Justin Johnson described the county’s behavioral-health administrative role as the payer and coordinator that works with the state and managed-care organizations to sustain services. Johnson said the county pursued community input, collaboration with local municipalities and first responders, and funding strategies to make programs sustainable rather than one-time expenditures.

The county noted the STAT expansion has both clinical and economic aims: to reduce inappropriate use of emergency departments and to provide a therapeutic alternative for people in crisis. County staff said the program received recognition from the National Association of Counties for the partnership. Officials said additional investments and program evaluation will continue as part of the county’s broader opioid response.

Details not specified in the program discussion include the full multi-year operating budget beyond the initial county and city contributions and the precise metrics the county will use for long-term outcome tracking.