Responding to the urgent need to assist state, local, and tribal government officials; jail administrators; correctional officers; and jail-based clinicians in the detection and proper management of acute withdrawal from substances among individuals in custody, the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), in partnership with the National Institute of Corrections (NIC), formed a collaboration with Advocates for Human Potential, Inc. (AHP), the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), and the National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC) to develop guidelines to support the effective management of substance withdrawal in local jails. Collectively, they worked with an expert committee (EC) of medical and criminal justice professionals, who include addiction specialists, correctional health care providers, and jail administrators, to guide the development of the product.
BJA and NIC laid out the need for these guidelines in Managing Substance Withdrawal in Jails: A Legal Brief.