Medication Assisted Treatment Grant Program

Assembly Bill 653 (AB 653)opens PDF file (Chapter 745, Statutes of 2021) was approved by Governor Newsom on October 9, 2021. This bill requires funding competitive grants to counties, and require counties receiving grants to use these funds for various purposes relating to the treatment of substance use disorders and the provision of medication-assisted treatment. The bill also requires grant-funded counties to collect and maintain data on the effectiveness of the program. County data will be compiled into a final report to the Legislature describing the activities funded by the grant program and the success of those activities in reducing drug overdoses and recidivism by people housed in jail and people under criminal justice supervision.

AB 653 also added language to the California Penal Code Section 1., Article 6 (commencing with Section 6047), Chapter 5 of Title 7 of Part 3 to read, in pertinent part:

6047.1. (a) The Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) Grant Program is hereby created and shall be administered by the Board of State and Community Corrections.

(b) The board shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to counties, as authorized by this article. The board shall establish minimum standards, funding schedules, and procedures for awarding grants.

On September 6, 2022, Governor Newsom approved Assembly Bill 179 (AB 179)opens PDF file (Chapter 249, Statutes of 2022) (Attachment C-2), amending the Budget Act of 2022 to include $10 million in funding for a new MAT Grant Program to be administered by the Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC). (The BSCC is permitted to use up to five percent of this appropriation for administrative costs).

Program Intent and Use of Funds

The goal of the MAT grant program is to provide funds to Counties for the treatment of substance use disorders and medication-assisted treatment, and to collect and maintain data on the effectiveness of the program. County data will be compiled into a final report to the Legislature describing the activities funded by the grant program and the success of those activities in reducing drug overdoses and recidivism by people housed in jail and people under criminal justice supervision. Funds may be used for the following purpose areas:

  1. Salaries and related costs for the placement of substance use disorder counselors in county jails that provide medication-assisted treatment to inmates with a substance use disorder.
  2. Doses of medication related to substance use disorder for inmates to take home upon release from county jail.
  3. Funding for services provided pursuant to contracts between county jail health providers and narcotic treatment providers.
  4. Mobile crisis teams of behavioral health professionals that can respond with law enforcement to mental health or other health crisis calls. Mobile response activities funded pursuant to this section shall include referrals for substance use disorder treatment and medication-assisted treatment for individuals under criminal justice supervision when clinically appropriate.
  5. Salary and related costs for providing medication-assisted treatment for persons who are under criminal justice supervision.
  6. Funding to increase capacity for community-based, medication-assisted treatment and substance use disorder treatment services for justice-involved individuals, or to improve care coordination and connections to medication-assisted treatment services upon release from correctional facilities. Activities may include, but are not limited to, capital expenditures or operating costs to establish new reentry centers or treatment programs that will serve justice-involved populations, expansion of existing community-based, medication-assisted treatment services to better meet the needs of justice-involved individuals, and other strategies to ensure timely and appropriate access to medication-assisted treatment upon release.

Contact the BSCC regarding the Medication-Assisted Treatment Grant

To provide general public comment submit an email to: MATGrant@bscc.ca.govcreate new email.

MAT Grant contacts: