Improving Overdose Prevention and Treatment in the Criminal Legal System
JCOIN supports researchers working in partnership with criminal legal system and behavioral health treatment professionals to build the evidence base for effective SUD service delivery, implementation, and dissemination. Each JCOIN study addresses a specific gap in the SUD care cascade, at one or more intercept points including jails, prisons, community corrections, problem-solving courts, and juvenile justice agencies. The studies evaluate the effectiveness and/or implementation of behavioral interventions, digital therapeutics, comprehensive patient-centered treatments, and medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) in communities throughout the United States.
JCOIN research projects vary in size, complexity, and duration, from small pilot studies to large multisite clinical trials. JCOIN 1.0 projects were conducted between 2019-2025. JCOIN 2.0 studies were launched beginning in 2025.
Browse all projects, or use the filtering tools below for more information about JCOIN studies.
Pathways to Treatment: Assessing Effectiveness and Implementation of Oregon’s Deflection Programs for People who Use Drugs
Principal Investigator(s): Alex H. Kral, Hope Smiley-McDonald
This study evaluates Oregon’s new deflection programs, which aim to steer people with substance use disorders (SUD) away from the…
Preventing Overdose and Promoting Recovery through Court Navigation
Principal Investigator(s): Bradley Ray
This study team is implementing a peer-led court navigator program inside county courthouse settings, which are rarely used for interventions….
Supporting Treatment Access and Recovery in Re-Entry (STAR-R)
Principal Investigator(s): David Smelson, Paige Sheffer
Maintaining Independence and Sobriety through Systems Integration, Outreach, and Networking – Criminal Justice (MISSION-CJ) is a new approach to providing…
Improving Access to MOUD in Drug Courts Through Interagency Collaboration: COLAAB study
Principal Investigator(s): Barbara Andraka-Christou, Ekaterina Pivovarova
While medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) can reduce the chance of overdose death by up to 50%, only around…
Kentucky Women’s Justice Community Overdose Innovation Network (WJCOIN-II)
Principal Investigator(s): Michele Staton, Carrie Oser
This study targets women with a history of opioid and/or stimulant use disorders who are transitioning from three jails in…
Linking Individuals Needing Care for Substance Use Disorders to Peer Coaches and Across Incarceration Settings (LINCS UP and IN)
Principal Investigator(s): Joseph Carpenter
This study aims to improve access to treatment for substance use disorders (SUD) in southern jails, focusing on groups that…
The Community Paramedic Response and Overdose Outreach with Supportive Medical-Legal Services (CROSSROADS) Study
Principal Investigator(s): Lauren Brinkley-Rubinstein, Emily Dauria, Kathryn Nowotny, Alysse Wurcel
Community paramedic (CP) programs offer an alternative to traditional policing by deploying medical responders after a behavioral health crisis, providing…