Chautauqua County Jail
The Chautauqua County Jail‘s required Medication Assisted Treatment program is well underway.
A bill passed in 2021 by New York State requires that county jails provide provide medical treatment for opioid addiction to inmates.
Sheriff Jim Quattrone said the jail previously offered treatment for those dealing with substance abuse issues but didn’t have a way prior to October 2022 of offering methadone treatment, “Our Jail Medical team has done a wonderful job of getting that implemented. We’re using all three forms of medication, well offering it, we’re not necessarily using it. But a big part of that legislation is requiring counseling and courses within the jail as well as follow up plans with the incarcerated individuals upon their release.”
Quattrone said the downside is that after an inmate is released, there is not always follow through by them with the plans set by caseworkers.
He said the Sheriff’s Office received a grant to hire someone with outreach experience to help with re-entry “And she’s been doing a great job of connecting with some of those incarcerated individuals who have been released. And we’re working on some other initiatives that can hopefully improve that. Again, while we can’t mandate it, we believe if we’re showing concern for them and that we care about them, we want to see them get healthy, that they will follow through.”
When it comes to paying for the program, Quattrone said Opioid Settlement funds as well as grants have been helping with costs, but there is not a long-term solution for how to keep funding the state mandated program once those sources run out.
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