Providers and Advocates Urge Los Angeles Jails to End Deadly Cutbacks to Opioid Treatment

The California Coalition of Alcohol and Drug Associations (CADA) is calling on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to immediately reverse a recent policy change that has sharply restricted access to medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for people with opioid use disorder in the County’s jails.

 In a letter sent to Board Chair Kathryn Barger and the full Board of Supervisors, CADA details the risks associated with the Correctional Health Services policy that was implemented this fall. 

CADA is urging the Board of Supervisors to take four immediate steps:

1. Eliminate the MAT waitlist and restore full, clinical access to buprenorphine and other evidence-based medications throughout a person’s incarceration—not just at intake.
2. Guarantee continuity of care, so that people on MAT in the community can continue treatment when taken into custody, and those who start MAT in jail transition directly to community providers upon release.
3. Deploy opioid settlement funds as intended, to expand MAT capacity and staffing rather than to backfill unrelated jail needs.
4. Build formal partnerships with community providers to create a “no wrong door” system linking jail-based care to residential, outpatient, and recovery support services after release.

CADA and its member organizations have offered to work with the Board of Supervisors, Correctional Health Services, and Los Angeles County jail leadership to design and implement a comprehensive, clinically sound treatment response that protects both patient safety and public safety.