Office of Attorney General Expands Program With Local Law Enforcement to Connect Individuals Suffering from Substance Use Disorder with Treatment
CLEARFIELD, PA.—Attorney General Josh Shapiro today announced that Clearfield County has joined the Law Enforcement Treatment Initiative (LETI), a program launched by Attorney General Shapiro in collaboration with law enforcement that provides assistance to Pennsylvanians suffering from substance use disorders in enrolling in a treatment program. Eleven counties have previously joined the LETI program.
This announcement comes only one week after the Office of Attorney General announced a historic agreement with three of the largest opioid distributors and its largest manufacturer, Johnson & Johnson, which would bring up to $1 billion agreement to Pa. The money that will come to Pennsylvania will help offer and expand life-saving treatment options to communities across our Commonwealth.
“As Pennsylvania recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, we cannot forget the ongoing opioid epidemic that takes the lives of 14 Pennsylvanians every day,” said Attorney General Josh Shapiro. “Connecting individuals to the treatment they need will save lives and make our communities safer, and I commend Clearfield County District Attorney Ryan Sayers for his commitment to tackling this crisis that impacts every community in our Commonwealth.”
PA LETI allows Pennsylvanians seeking treatment for substance use disorder to use their local law enforcement, including sheriffs, probation officers, and parole officers as a resource to contact participating treatment partners without the threat of arrest.
“The LETI program is a step in the right direction for Clearfield County,” said District Attorney Ryan Sayers. “In many cases, getting treatment and providing services to low level, nonviolent offenders is a statistically better option than just incarceration, and this will hopefully help these individuals break the cycle of addiction that is causing them to be a part of the criminal justice system. I would like to thank the Attorney General’s Office and Clearfield-Jefferson Drug & Alcohol Commission who have helped make this program a reality in Clearfield County. The hope is that we can implement further initiatives like the LETI program, which would include the proposal currently before the Court for a full drug court program.”
Shapiro said partnering Clearfield County law enforcement agencies under PA LETI will:
- Open their station doors to those suffering from substance use disorder.
- Help identify treatment for those who seek it.
- Assist with ensuring that people have transportation to the facilities.
- Maintain relationships with local treatment providers to understand availability, and collect data to study outcomes.
In Clearfield County, individuals can contact a member of law enforcement at any time to ask for a referral or to be connected to treatment with no threat of arrest or prosecution. This policy also includes the ability for law enforcement to connect individuals to treatment at their discretion.
Agent Janene Holter, PhD, is the Office of Attorney General’s dedicated full-time agent who coordinates PA LETI. Her work includes training, writing policies for each participating county, providing sample policies and documents, and convening key community stakeholders.
LETI currently operates in Berks, Bradford, Carbon, Dauphin, Delaware, Fayette, Mifflin, Montgomery, Northumberland, Schuylkill, and Somerset counties. District Attorneys in Pennsylvania interested in starting a PA LETI program should contact the Office of Attorney General at 570-826-2483.
# # #