A Denver City Council committee voted Wednesday to approve a $1.7 million contract with Dever Health and Hospital Authority, or DHHA, to provide medication-assisted substance abuse treatment in Denver jails.
“The purpose is to increase the number of incarcerated individuals with access to medication-assisted treatment or maintenance while incarcerated in Denver Sheriff Department facilities and increase connections to medication-assisted treatment and other clinically indicated substance use treatment after release from Denver Sheriff Department custody,” according to a memo from city staff to the council. “Project activities include increasing (the authority’s) medication-assisted treatment nursing, therapeutic case worker, and case coordination staffing; expanding programming in the medication-assisted treatment pods; and improving transitions from jail-based to community treatment services by bringing additional treatment providers into the jail and referring releasing individuals to sober living.” The authority hopes to hire the new positions by the end of February, according to the memo.