Georgia Department of Community Supervision’s Collaborative Effort to Support its Justice-Involved Population

A joint effort by the Georgia Department of Community Supervision, the Addiction Policy Forum, and the Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts aimed to assist justice-involved individuals with substance use disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic. This initiative was part of a larger nationwide pilot program that included 21 criminal justice agencies across 16 states. The Georgia pilot specifically served 111 individuals by providing a range of recovery support services, such as a smartphone app, a digital cognitive behavioral therapy platform (CBT4CBT), and targeted engagement for high-risk clients. Participants also benefited from peer support, online support groups, weekly forums, and case coordination, which collectively helped support a total of 634 justice-involved individuals across the country.

Participants reported improvements in protective factors and reductions in critical risk factors.