Corrections_Today_January_February_2023_Vol.85_No.1

istock/FilippoBacci

(RRJA) developed its peer support model, following the same model to provide emotional, social and practical support to front-line staff members employed with the jail system. Several staff members were trained and required to obtain ongoing continuing education hours. RRJA’s program focus was to provide tangible support to staff who were experiencing professional and life challenges in a stressful profession (Mason, 2018). Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) is also a grow ing initiative among state prisons and jails. In Rhode Island, the Corrections Department now provides medical addiction treatment to criminals while incarcerated. The results have been striking. Between 2016 and 2017, the number of deaths among recent ex-prisoners dropped by 61% bringing down the total number of overdose deaths in the state by 12%, even at a time when opioids are driv ing up the death rate in most places (Green et al.). Data collection The MAT/Peer support initiative launched on November 6, 2017, at five prisons within the South Carolina Department of Corrections. The project later expanded to two additional prisons in 2018. The primary purpose of the project is to prevent or reduce the nega tive consequences of substance use and addiction. At no cost, DAODAS provided SCDC with two Certified

Peer Support Specialists (CPSS) in 2018. By the end of 2018, the demand for PSS had become too much for the two CPSS to manage, therefore a decision was made to recruit and train 100 inmates who were in personal recovery from SUD. All 100 inmates have been trained and certified as peer support specialists, equipped to pro vide support services to other inmates striving to remain alcohol/drug-free. On February 11, 2019, the first 18 male inmates were certified as CPSS and on March 11, 2019, the first 22 female inmates were certified at the state’s female prison. As of November 2021, SCDC & SCDA ODAS have trained and certified 121 inmates as CPSS and DAODAS has provided a third CPSS and a dedicated program supervisor to manage the expanded service. The original timeline for training was disrupted due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. SCDC, DAODAS, and its training partners were able to pivot and provide the training through a hybrid telehealth delivery and in-person format with the final cohort graduating on September 20, 2021. SCDC provides in-kind support, such as office space and on-site supervision, for each of the Peer Support Specialists. Two streams of data were referenced for this ar ticle. The first data source was surveying participants who received PSS while incarcerated and have since been released into the community for at least 90 days. This approach was selected to gauge meaningfulness

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