Cumberland County “opioid intervention court” aims to keep drug users clean after prison

As prisons across the state have seen an influx of people addicted to opioids, one midstate county has set up an “intervention court” in an effort to keep people from returning to drugs.

Cumberland County Judge Jessica Brewbaker says by 2015 a quarter of Cumberland County’s incoming prisoners had to be detoxed. She’s seen some of them return to her court after serving out their sentences and getting back on drugs.

“Sixty percent of our overdose deaths in Cumberland County were people with recent criminal charges,” Brewbaker says. “So sixty percent of those people dying we had our hands on at one point in time and could have helped.”

Brewbaker says the county is the first in the state to test out an intervention court that puts offenders face to face with her every weekday for six weeks.

She says the approach differs from standard drug court in its intensity and commitment.

The program is voluntary, but in some cases those who participate may qualify for reduced sentences. Brewbaker says, the idea isn’t to give someone a free pass, but to keep him or her off drugs before they end up back in prison or dead.

The program begins next month. If successful, Brewbaker hopes other counties adopt it as well.