Opioid Use Disorder Screenings in Local Jails

"Between June 1 and June 30, 2019, an estimated 894,030 persons were admitted to local jails (table 3). During that period, jails in the Northeast admitted 53,340 persons and screened 80% of those admissions for OUD. More than a quarter (26%) of OUD screenings in the Northeast were positive. Jails in the West (197,570 admissions) and Midwest (208,880) had about four times as many admissions as those in the Northeast and screened a smaller percentage for OUD (68% of admissions in the West and 61% in the Midwest). Jails in the South (434,230 admissions), with more than eight times as many admissions as jails in the Northeast, screened 62% of admissions for OUD. Fifteen percent of OUD screenings in the South, 13% in the Midwest, and 11% in the West were positive. 

"Larger jail jurisdictions (those holding 1,000 or more inmates) reported that 79% of persons admitted in June 2019 were screened for OUD. Forty-eight percent of persons admitted in smaller jail jurisdictions (those holding fewer than 250 inmates) were screened for OUD. While the percentage of admissions screened generally increased with jail jurisdiction size, the percentage of screenings that were positive fluctuated. The percent of positive OUD screenings (22%) was highest in jail jurisdictions holding 100 to 249 inmates.

"Urban jails (69%) screened a larger percentage of admissions for OUD than rural jails (53%). However, a greater percentage of screenings in rural jails (19%) than in urban jails (13%) were positive. In states with the highest opioid overdose death rates (24.0 or more per 100,000 U.S. residents ages 15 to 74), local jails conducted OUD screenings on 68% of June 2019 admissions. For states with the lowest opioid overdose death rates (fewer than 10.0 per 100,000), 58% of admissions were screened. Twenty-two percent of OUD screenings in states with the highest opioid overdose death rates were positive, compared to 6% in states with the lowest rates."