An Evaluation of the Methadone maintenance Program at the Bernalillo County Detention Center

The overall goal of this project is to evaluate the Methadone Maintenance Therapy (MMT) Program offered to inmates at the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in New Mexico. The evaluation includes four elements: (1) Meta-analysis of the extant literature on MMT and other pharmacotherapies for opiate dependence in correctional facilities; (2) Cost-effectiveness analysis of the MMT; (3) assessment of Retention rates in community-based methadone programs after release from the MDC; and (4) assessment of Recidivism rates post-release for inmates in MMT in comparison to three other groups of inmates who: (i) were detoxified from opiates while in jail; (ii) were detoxified from other drugs; (iii) were part of the general MDC population.