The Center for Court Innovation, in partnership with the New York State Unified Court System, Office for Justice Initiatives, Division of Policy and Planning, and the Office of Addiction Services and Supports, created this report, which identifies ways for opioid courts and other drug treatment courts to improve access to Medication for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD).

The report shares lessons from opioid court practitioners and their partners about what quality MOUD care, treatment, and use look like; how to promptly identify potential court participants and provide access to MOUD and specialty care; and how to identify and engage MOUD providers. The goal is to inform practitioners in treatment courts as well as partners of the courts, as they seek to improve access to MOUD and other specialty treatment services as part of the criminal legal process.

To produce the findings in this report, the authors conducted in-depth interviews with 40 practitioners from across disciplines, including treatment providers; prescribers; office-based addiction treatment programs; opioid court case managers, coordinators, and project directors; harm reduction specialists; judges; researchers; justice-involved people; and people with lived experience of recovery.