UMass Public Health Researchers Will Assess New Courts Program to Provide Treatment to People with Substance Use Disorders

Public health scientist Elizabeth Evans will evaluate a pilot initiative in the Chicopee and Holyoke district courts that is designed to connect court-involved individuals with substance use disorders to treatment and recovery services. 

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The Chicopee and Holyoke Access to Treatment and Services (CHATS) Project, funded with a three-year, $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to the Trial Court of Massachusetts, will allow each court to partner with Western Massachusetts treatment provider Gándara Health. 

“This grant permits us to innovate, to facilitate connections and to do more to address the difficult problem of addiction facing so many individuals appearing in the Chicopee District Court,” says Chicopee District Court First Justice Bethzaida Sanabria-Vega.

Beginning this spring, the grant will fund the full-time services of a Peer Recovery Coach and a Recovery Support Coordinator from Gándara in both the Chicopee and Holyoke courts. They will link participants to health and social service providers in their communities.

Evans, professor of community health education, and her team in the School of Public Health and Health Sciences will collect data on participation, engagement and outcomes and will work with the Trial Court to evaluate how the program is implemented.

“These district courts are engaged in innovative programming that has the potential to save lives and improve public safety,” Evans says. “We’ll learn whether this program is effective and whether it should expand.”

For several years, Evans has been working with the sheriffs in Franklin and Hampshire counties to design, implement and evaluate jail-based treatment programs for people with opioid use disorder.

The goal of CHATS is to reduce recidivism, opioid use and overdose deaths. The project is part of an effort to expand access to treatment and services at every stage of court proceedings, beginning at an individual’s first court appearance. 

Participation is voluntary and is available to anyone appearing before the courts on a criminal charge or a civil commitment for a substance use disorder. CHATS differs from specialty courts, where treatment or services typically begin post-conviction. 

“This grant will expand ongoing efforts to connect court-involved individuals to treatment for substance use disorders starting on the first day they appear in court,” says Holyoke District Court First Justice William Hadley.