PENNSYLVANIA—Attorney General Josh Shapiro today announced that Wyoming 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 disorder in enrolling in treatment services. Sixteen counties across the Commonwealth have previously joined the LETI program.
PA LETI is a law enforcement-led treatment initiative that will allow Pennsylvanians in Wyoming County seeking treatment for substance use disorder to use their local law enforcement, county officials, and community stakeholders, to contact Luzerne/Wyoming Drug and Alcohol Program for treatment services without the threat of arrest.
“We lose 14 Pennsylvanias a day to the opioid epidemic,” said Attorney General Josh Shapiro. “Connecting individuals to the treatment they need will save lives, make our communities stronger, and help minimize the stigma associated with substance use disorder. I commend District Attorney Peters and our law enforcement partners across Wyoming County for implementing this program in their communities.”
Shapiro said partnering Wyoming County law enforcement agencies and others under PA LETI will:
- Open their doors to those suffering from substance use disorder.
- Help identify individuals seeking treatment services.
- Assist with ensuring that people have transportation to treatment services.
- Maintain relationships with our local drug and alcohol administration to understand availability, and collect data to study outcomes.
In Wyoming County, individuals can contact a member of law enforcement, county official, or community stakeholder 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. Law enforcement and county leadership in Wyoming County will be partnering with Luzerne/Wyoming Drug and Program to facilitate these referrals.
“I look forward to partnering with Attorney General Shapiro, and thank him for helping Wyoming County expand our existing treatment initiatives through implementation of LETI, to help people with substance use disorder gain direct access to treatment services 24/7. Based on my experience as a street cop, police chief, state and federal prosecutor, and senior drug police official in two White Houses, I can say that LETI is precisely the kind of law enforcement-led innovation needed at a time when we are losing more souls to accidental fentanyl overdoses than ever imagined. Rest assured, we will remain tough on crime while dealing with drug traffickers, predators, and violent criminals, but we will be smart on crime through implementation of our Law Enforcement Treatment Initiatives,” said Wyoming County District Attorney Joseph Peters.
The Wyoming County Hope Coalition formed in 2018 to address the opioid epidemic in their community and to facilitate connections among the community and stakeholders. The coalition brought medical providers, law enforcement, county officials, and individuals in recovery together to combat the opioid epidemic. That work will continue with the added assistance of the LETI program.
“The Law Enforcement Treatment Initiative is an exciting new program for Wyoming County. LETI allows law enforcement to encourage substance use treatment as an alternative to the criminal justice system. LETI has increased collaboration between law enforcement, our District Attorney’s Office, treatment providers, and our Luzerne/Wyoming SCA. We aim to break down barriers while providing more access points to treatment. Recovery is possible and this program will allow everyone to be an active participant in that person’s road to recovery,” said Ryan Hogan, Luzerne/Wyoming SCA Administrator, Luzerne/Wyoming Counties Drug & Alcohol Program.
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, convening key community stakeholders, and case management of LETI referrals.
LETI currently operates in Berks, Bradford, Carbon, Chester, Clearfield, Columbia, Dauphin, Delaware, Elk, Fayette, Mifflin, Montgomery, Northumberland, Schuylkill, Snyder, 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.
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