In May of 2019, Lewis and Clark County was one of 15 counties selected from across the U.S. to participate in the Planning Initiative to Build Bridges Between Jail and Community-Based Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder program. This program, supported by Arnold Ventures and the US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance, was a 9-month planning project designed to help communities develop a comprehensive continuum of care model that targets the jail population and builds bridges between in-custody and community-based treatment.

A multidisciplinary MAT Bridges team was formed to research evidence-based practices used in existing jail-based MAT programs across the country and develop a MAT program specific to the needs of Lewis and Clark County. The team includes: a County Commissioner, the Criminal Justice Services Director and Behavioral Health Coordinator, Sherriff's Office Detention Center Captain, Physician, and Nurse Manager, and two Federally Qualified Health Centers' (FQHC) Behavioral Health Director and Behavioral Health Program Supervisor. 

In February 2020, the County was awarded a grant with the Intergovernmental Institute of Research and Bureau of Justice Assistance's Building Bridges Between Jails and Community-based Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder. Through this grant, we are developing effective linkages between the County's two FQHCs' MAT programs and the Detention Center by utilizing the unique skills of Certified Peer Support Specialists (CPSS). All MAT Bridges participants will be directly connected to a CPSS upon release to ensure they are connected to their treatment and recovery supports with our FQHC partners. 

In May 2020, Lewis and Clark County requested funding through the Bureau of Justice Assistance-Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant and Substance Abuse Site-based Program (COSSAP) to support he implementation of the MAT Bridges Program in the Detention Center. The County was awarded the grant in October 2020 for $600,000 over three years. This three-year grant will allow Lewis and Clark County to fully realize the research-based MAT Bridges Program. Funding from this grant will cover the costs of medication, supplies, case management, and a contracted Licensed Addictions Counselor.