MADISON, Wis. — Over 2,600 people received some sort of service through the Dane County Jail’s Medication Assistance Treatment (MAT) program last year, officials said Monday.
Services ranged from screenings to referrals to medication. A Dane County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson said over 500 people received either Vivitrol or Buprenorphine/Subutex medications.
Vivitrol is used to treat alcohol or drug dependence while, according to the National Library of Medicine, Buprenorphine is meant to “treat pain and opioid use disorder.”
“We know the need for opioid treatment in our community is substantial,” Sheriff Kalvin Barrett said. “It is programs like this that address the root cause of incarceration and help stop the vicious cycle of criminalizing addiction.”
Launched in 2022, the jail’s MAT program was meant to allow people who were on an MAT program before entering the jail to continue receiving care. Nearly 270 jail residents were given medications during the first year of the program.