A Review of Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) in United States Jails and Prisons

A Review of Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) in United States Jails and Prisons

June 2023

Mardet Homans (University of California, Irvine), Denise Allen (California Correctional Health Care Services), and Yesenia Mazariegos (California Correctional Health Care Services)

The University of California, Irvine collaborated with California Correctional Health Care Services to compile a report that examines the delivery of Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) to incarcerated persons in jails and prisons within the United States. The expansion of MAT in corrections is gaining national attention due to the dramatic increase in opioid overdoses and overdose deaths from synthetic opioids. Besides California, based on a review of publicly available information, only 14 states offer comprehensive MAT services at either intake and/or release in a considerable number of its jails and prisons. Overall, there is significant variability among states regarding the delivery of MAT to incarcerated persons. The goal of this report is to document evidence-based practices gathered from California and other correctional systems that can be used to guide expansion of MAT to justice-involved populations.