DOC outlines MAT, Medicaid waiver, IDs and pretrial supervision as keys to reducing returns to custody

Interim Commissioner John Murad and DOC staff told the Corrections & Institutions committee that treatment access, reentry supports and pretrial supervision are core strategies for reducing recidivism and demands on facilities.

Murad said about 53 people in DOC custody were receiving medically assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use and that DOC and vendor Wellpath are working to hire clinicians to expand therapeutic services beyond medication alone. He described the Medicaid 1115 waiver as a new tool to create "warmer handoffs"—for example ensuring people leaving custody have Medicaid enrollment, access to a pharmacy and continuing prescriptions—so continuity of care reduces risk of relapse and reoffense.

Members discussed a bill under consideration to allow people who are detained or sentenced to obtain state‑issued non‑driver IDs after a defined period. Murad said DOC and DMV staff have discussed options; the proposed legislative change would expand an existing six‑month eligibility window that currently applies to people who are sentenced so detainees could also receive IDs prior to release.

On pretrial supervision, Murad summarized early pilot work: the accountability court model has led to a small number of referrals to pretrial supervision (five people referred in the example discussed). The committee discussed funding—the pilot began with about $600,000 in some counties and total program costs were described historically at about $1.2 million—and members requested program evaluation data, length‑of‑stay distributions and recidivism measures before expansion.

Committee members and DOC agreed to request anonymized recidivism and program‑effectiveness data and to invite subject‑matter experts (including the Council of State Governments) to testify on implementing and scaling pretrial supervision and reentry services.