opiate intervention court

Judge Brewbaker has established the County's Mental Health Court and the Nation's second Opioid Intervention Court in response to the Opioid crisis that is gripping the country. 

OIC is a model for the state and the country for how to rapidly address the needs of defendants suffering from opiate addiction. 

Once accepted into the program, participants appear once a day for 30 court appearances for random urine screening and for a check in with the court. OIC participants tend to enter the program at the outset of their case, with many entering even before their preliminary hearing. 

Persons who complete the program's 30 day requirement then have individually assessed levels of aftercare to continue to assist participants in their battle against addiction. 

OIC is different than the other two courts in that it is not intended to be a long term solution to a person's addiction; rather, it acts as triage to stop the bleeding, so to speak, of persons suffering from addiction.

Due to the rapid response for entry into the program, persons who otherwise would be on bail continuing to use opiates and committing property offenses to feed their addiction have instead been paired with a certified recovery specialist to address their treatment and associated needs. 

These  efforts have had a substantial positive impact on the community, and the OIC program in particular has played a huge role in reducing overdoses in Cumberland County. 

When all of our neighboring counties have seen an explosion of overdoses and opiate related crimes committed, Cumberland County stands alone as the only jurisdiction to see a decrease from last year, and OIC is a huge part of that. 

Furthermore, and most importantly, not a single person who has participated in OIC has had a drug overdose death nor required the administration of naloxone to reverse an overdose.