People arrested and found to have an opioid addiction may not find themselves in jail right away as treating their drug use takes precedence over punishing their crime.

Under a new plan announced Monday, eligible defendants who are at high risk of opioid overdose can be put on track to stop their cravings and stabilize their condition before their case works its way through the criminal justice system.

The Opioid Stabilization Part (OSP) is an extension of long-running Rochester Treatment Courts. Partial funding for the OSP comes from a $1.8 million grant from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration that was announced several months ago. The money will pay for some staffing, but it is designed to help cover treatment costs for individuals who lack insurance.

Rochester City Court Judge Caroline Morrison will preside over the OSP, which will start Dec. 3.

"I don't think there's any way we can overstate the importance of what we're talking about here," said Craig J. Doran, administrative judge of the Seventh Judicial District for the state of New York. "People are dying every day we don't offer them this very important collaborative effort."

Team approach

The Opioid Stabilization Part brings together the New York state court system, the Monroe County District Attorney's Office, the Public Defender's Office and the Monroe County Sheriff's Office.

Judge John DeMarco, supervising judge of treatment courts in the Seventh District, Monroe County Executive Cheryl Dinolfo, Sheriff Todd Baxter, District Attorney Sandra Doorley and Public Defender Timothy Donaher attended the news conference announcing the OSP.

The court initially is working with Rochester Regional Health, Huther Doyle, Conifer Park, John L. Norris and Delphi Rise treatment centers. Doran left the door open for other providers to participate.

The program is modeled on the Buffalo Opioid Treatment Intervention Court, which started in the spring of 2017.

Addiction experts have said that people who've been using opioids and then are jailed are at greater risk of dying if they start again after their release. They have lost their tolerance for the drug, so the same amount they used before incarceration now can kill them.

Time out from prosecution

Monroe County's OSP is supposed to provide immediate intervention, treatment and supervision to defendants at high risk of opioid misuse.

"I am not exaggerating when I tell you it will literally save lives," Doran said.

People charged with a violation, misdemeanor or other crime that would qualify for judicial diversion are eligible for the OSP. Individuals charged with a violent felony or Class A felony are not eligible. Individuals charged with other felonies may be eligible, pending approval of the district attorney.

Here's how OSP will work:

As part of routine intake of people being booked, medical staff at the jail will assess the individual's risk for overdose.

The judicial case manager will get additional information to determine the individual's risk.

Someone deemed at high risk will be placed with a treatment provider, who then is responsible for tracking that individual on a daily basis and reporting to the court.

The program runs 45 days, with the potential of one 45-day extension. Individuals will have to report to the court each day they are part of OSP.

While the defendant is in the program, the district attorney will suspend prosecution.

After being deemed stable and no longer at risk of an overdose, the individual may be referred to drug treatment court for longer-term treatment, judicial diversion or other adjudication.

The Opioid Stabilization Part will start first with arrests made in the city. Doran said he wants to program to move to town and village courts as quickly as possible, but he did not give a date.

Jumping the line?

The news conference was held where drug court convenes, and the gallery mostly was made up of people in law enforcement and the treatment field.

"We all have friends and family members that have been affected by this," Doran said. He encouraged the group to reflect on what it's been like for them, "but also if you choose, to say a prayer that we all stay true to our mission and we use our power and our privilege to save lives."

Through October, 984 people in Monroe County have suffered a suspected opioid overdose and 139 people have died, according to data collected by law enforcement. In October alone, 112 people overdosed and 17 died.

DeMarco said that when a person is arrested, there's an opportunity to intervene that might not otherwise present itself. He said the individual may be more interested in recovery and will have a greater likelihood of success. He said that most of the people in the OSP would be in outpatient treatment.

However, families have complained for some time that there are not enough inpatient beds and that outpatient services are hard to navigate. The prospect of someone committing a crime and getting treatment right away raised the question of whether they were, in effect, cutting in.

"I wouldn't use the term cutting the line," Doran said, who added there are efforts to make treatment more widely available. "I would use the term using our place and our position to be of influence in people's lives who are entering the criminal justice system to bring the resources to bear quickly to save their lives."

PSINGER@Gannett.com