Drawing from the success of the drug court program’s virtual tour initiative, BJA announces the first RSAT virtual tour of a jail-based residential substance abuse treatment (RSAT) program. The online tool describes the essential elements of a model RSAT program in the Barnstable House of Correction, located in Massachusetts. The Barnstable RSAT program is founded on a modified therapeutic community composed of treatment counselors, specially trained correctional officers, and inmates themselves.
The program includes comprehensive post-release planning for each inmate, aided by an innovative Community Re-entry Council composed of community treatment and service providers and community-based corrections that meets biweekly to develop referrals and resources for each inmate six weeks prior to release. The Barnstable House of Correction RSAT program was also one of the first in the nation of provide Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) in the form of naltrexone to clients three days before an inmate’s release to facilitate drug-free transitioning back into the community.
The virtual tour was developed by the BJA training and technical assistance grantee, Advocates for Human Potential, Inc., and produced by Nick Noyes and made possible as a result of the cooperation and support of the Barnstable County Sheriff, James M. Cummings, his staff, as well as inmates and former inmates who actively participated in the filming.