Pre-Trial Diversion and Drug Courts

ENSO Recovery

ENSO Recovery is an outpatient and correctional treatment program for substance use disorders that specializes in medication assisted treatment of opioid use disorders in Augusta and Sanford Maine utilizing a treatment approach rooted in the Harm Reduction philosophy. ENSO provides free naloxone distribution services and is in partnership with the City of Portland Department of Public Health, The Portland and Sanford Police Departments, the Cumberland County and Kennebec County Drug Courts and the correctional institutions in Kennebec, Lincoln, Sagadahoc and Waldo counties. The founder of ENSO has been a harm reduction activist since 1979.

The Police, Treatment, and Community (PTAC) Collaborative is the nation’s knowledge leader in the field of pre-arrest diversion. Practitioners in criminal justice, behavioral health, research, advocacy, and public policy are joining with community leaders and stakeholders from across the nation to provide national vision, leadership, voice, and action on pre-arrest diversion as part of the PTAC Collaborative. Recognizing that pre-arrest diversion is a type of front-end justice intervention, the PTAC Collaborative champions the widespread adoption of this promising approach. The PTAC Collaborative encourages community leaders to come together through cross-sector collaboration to employ pre-arrest diversion initiatives that best address the needs of their communities and their citizens. There currently are approximately 500 known formalized PAD initiatives designed to respond to individuals manifesting substance use disorders, whereas within only the last six years there were just a handful. For mental health PAD, initiatives can be found in 49 states. Nevertheless, significant opportunity for new growth and to scale up current efforts exists. With approximately 850,000 police officers in 18,000 departments across the country, PAD interventions may offer a potential referral source to mental health and substance use treatment unmatched by any other effort, justice related or otherwise.