One way sheriffs say these needs can be met is by expanding the medication assisted treatment program currently operating in a few counties to all offices — a move that would require a bump from the $15 million in Baker's budget to $22.5 million.
Sheriff Nick Cocchi speaks with a group of men from the addiction treatment unit at the Hampden County Jail in Ludlow.
"Our population coming to jail, as much as it's being reduced, the acute mental health and heath care issues are posing a significant strain on the budgets of sheriffs' offices," Cocchi testified before the Joint Committee on Ways and Means. "You shouldn't have to come to jail to get good treatment but we're asked to fill a gap that shouldn't exist in the community," Koutoujian said.
The Joint Ways and Means Committee took hours of testimony Monday from a numbers of state agencies, including the Executive Office of Public Safety and Homeland Security.
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