The Bureau for Behavioral Health and the WV Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation (DOCR) has implemented a peer recovery support service program at each of the ten regional jails in West Virginia. To be eligible for this program, incarcerated individuals must have an opioid use disorder (OUD) and/or a stimulant use disorder. The goal of this program is to provide individuals with the resources they need one they are released from a correctional facility. Such resources are connecting to a treatment provider, finding safe housing, providing naloxone and fentanyl test strips, obtaining a birth certificate, picture ID and a new social security card. Many of the individuals this program helps cannot be released from jail until they can provide the court information regarding a safe living arrangement. Many times, the PRSS or PRSS Coordinator assists the individual in finding such housing.
The WVU PRSS Coordinator works with the PRSS placed in the northern correctional facilities of Northern Regional Jail, North Central Regional Jail, Central Regional Jail and Tygart Valley Regional, specifically, to develop and implement the provision of overdose prevention education and guidance on recovery plan implementation for each client prior to release.