The PA Prisons and Parole Podcast
This podcast blog will highlight news and information from and about the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections.
While a major focus of the Department of Corrections is preparing incarcerated individuals for reentry, victims of crime can never be overlooked. Fortunately, the DOC has a strong relationship with the Office of Victim Advocate! In this episode, Commonwealth Victim Advocate Suzanne Estrella joins the podcast to discuss the many ways her office works within the DOC to support victims while helping inmates come to terms with their actions.
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In this episode, Dr. Bret Bucklen discusses a new report released by his team this month, which is a cost-benefit analysis of the use of Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT). The study compares the benefit-to-cost ratio for four different types of MATs that are currently used by the PA Department of Corrections: Revia, Vivitrol, Suboxone, and Sublocade. Revia (pill form) and Vivitrol (shot form) are referred to as “antagonist” MATs; Suboxone (pill form) and Sublocade (shot form) are referred to as “partial agonist” MATs. How do the costs (including the potential cost of diversion in prison) and benefits (including recidivism reduction and overdose death reduction) stack up for these various forms of MAT? This episode explains what MAT is, how it is used within the department, and the results from this new cost-benefit analysis study.
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