Allegheny County Jail ordered to provide medication to inmates with opioid use disorder

Allegheny County Jail health officials will now be required to provide medication for inmates being treated for opioid use disorder after reaching an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice.

As part of the agreement, the county also will pay a person at the jail who was denied access to methadone $10,000 for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act by refusing to provide him treatment.

Opioid use disorder is considered to be a disability covered by federal law.

DOJ officials praised the policy change.

“Too many individuals with opioid use disorder cycle in and out of jails because they can’t find a path to recovery,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This agreement will ensure that Allegheny County Jail provides access to medications that can help break that cycle.”

She said the treatments provide a path to recovery for people struggling with addiction.

A county spokeswoman said she expected to release a statement on the issue later Friday.

According to the seven-page settlement agreement, DOJ opened an investigation after receiving a complaint that a man was denied methadone at the jail even though he had been receiving treatment from a licensed provider prior to his incarceration.

DOJ investigated whether the jail’s treatment of the man violated federal law and whether officials there failed to provide methadone to others where it was medically appropriate.

According to the settlement agreement, ACJ provided access to methadone to incarcerated people only if they were pregnant and in treatment prior to incarceration.

“At intake, nonpregnant individuals who were in methadone treatment to treat their (opioid use disorder) were put through medically supervised withdrawal,” the agreement said.

Bethany Hallam, an Allegheny County councilwoman who sits on the county’s Jail Oversight Board, experienced that process.

“I personally detoxed cold turkey in ACJ not that long ago,” said Hallam, who is open about her previous drug use. “I didn’t think I was going to survive that, and knowing it didn’t have to be that way.”

She has been in recovery since her incarceration Aug. 26, 2016.

Hallam took office in January 2020 and immediately was appointed as council’s designee on the Jail Oversight Board.

For nearly four years, she said she has been pushing for methadone use for those incarcerated. On Friday, she said she was thrilled at the policy change.

“We know the majority of people are on some substance when they come into the jail,” Hallam said. “So many people coming into the jail daily are coming in at one of the most vulnerable points in their life.

“We have this opportunity to help people so that when they leave the jail they are set up for success.”

The settlement document notes that the parties reached an agreement to avoid the costs and risks of litigation. It also said that there is no admission of liability or wrongdoing on the part of Allegheny County, its officers or employees.

Within six months, the county must contract with a licensed opioid treatment provider.

Under the new policy, jail officials will not change or discontinue a person’s medication unless it is recommended by a qualified medical provider.

In addition, within two months, the county must ensure that all incarcerated people are evaluated for opioid use disorder at admission and periodically afterward.