This study evaluated the Opioid Intervention Court (OIC) that began in Buffalo, NY, in May 2017 as an intensive intervention for people at risk of overdose.
The evaluation focused on four major aims: (1) to describe OIC participant demographic characteristics, completion, and court engagement using court administrative data; (2) to examine OIC completion by demographics and court engagement characteristics; (3) to describe participants’ OIC experiences from survey data; and (4) to explore court team members’ perceptions and experiences based on interviews. Results suggest that participants who initiated MAT within the first week were more likely to complete OIC. Participants and personnel responded favorably to the OIC program. (publisher abstract modified)