Massachusetts Center of Excellence for Specialty Courts

Naloxone and Buprenorphine Overview: An Update
2023-04-11 13:00 - 14:00 (America/New_York) | https://macoe.org/event/naloxone-and-buprenorphine-overview-an-update/
Since 2002, almost 138 million prescriptions have been dispensed for buprenorphine and naloxone combination products. During this training, we will discuss how buprenorphine/naloxone works, its efficacy in managing symptoms of an opioid use disorder, treatment protocols, and dosages, and ways of adjusting and terminating treatment as clinically appropriate.
We will also address a highly effective and widely used approach for reducing overdoses and mortality in individuals who use opioids (i.e., Narcan and similar products). We will discuss how to recognize the signs of an opioid overdose, where to obtain nasal naloxone products, recent guidelines for use, and the best guidance for managing individuals after they received naloxone.
Facilitator
Joseph Sawicki Jr., RPh., PharmD, is a pharmacist working with the Massachusetts Center of Excellence (CoE) for Specialty Courts and UMass Chan Medical School. In his current role, he works as a Consultant Pharmacist for select Massachusetts Drug/Recovery Courts and on a Commonwealth Medicine Parole Project funded by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security. Joe brings more than 30 years of pharmacy experience to these roles. Prior to joining the CoE and UMass Chan, Joe spent 14 years working in a hospital setting specializing in pain management and substance use disorders, culminating in the creation of an opioid stewardship program to align with credentialing body standards (JCAHO). His certifications include Pharmacy-Based Immunization Delivery, Pain Management Specialty Pharmacist, and Substances of Abuse Specialty Pharmacist, and he is a Member of the Worcester Opioid Task Force since 2015. His expertise is utilized at clinical conferences and in developing numerous policies and protocols around best practices for treating patients with pain and substance use disorders. His passion lies in providing education, support, and training around medication management to legal professionals, researchers, and clinicians.
Jo************@******ed.edu
Event Location
This webinar is hosted by the Massachusetts Center of Excellence for Specialty Courts.
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Audience
This webinar is for members of the Massachusetts Executive Office of the Trial Court, Massachusetts Probation Service, Massachusetts Office of Community Corrections and Community Justice Support Centers, and those professionals working with Massachusetts Specialty Courts and related programs.

Strength at Home: Trauma-Informed Intervention for Those Who Use Intimate Partner Violence
2024-01-29 13:00 - 14:00 | https://macoe.org/event/strength-at-home-trauma-informed-intervention-for-those-who-use-intimate-partner-violence/
On January 29, 2024 from 1-2 PM, Dr. Casey Taft presents a training focused on the role of trauma and negative life events and intimate partner violence in relationships. This training includes a review of important models for understanding violence and its impacts and an exploration of factors that can increase the risk of violence. Strength at Home will be discussed as an intervention that uses a trauma-informed approach to work with people who use violence.

To register for the training, click here.
To learn more about your trainer, you can visit Strength at Home.

Virtual Panel Training, Understanding Commercial Sexual Exploitation & Meeting the Needs of People Who Experience Exploitation
2024-03-11 13:00 - 15:00 | https://macoe.org/event/virtual-panel-training-understanding-commercial-sexual-exploitation-meeting-the-needs-of-people-who-experience-exploitation/
Virtual Panel Training
March 11, 2024, | 1:00-3:00 pm ET
The three presenters will explore Commercial Sexual Exploitation (CSE) from three distinct vantage points. They will talk for thirty minutes each and after the presentations, CoE will facilitate a panel discussion involving the speakers and training participants.
Presentation 1: Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children: Understanding the Problem and
Improving Our Responses, presented by Amy Farrell
This training will discuss commercial sexual exploitation of children in Massachusetts and nationally. The key elements of the training will outline what is known about the factors that predict vulnerability to commercial sexual exploitation among children, and under-recognized and vulnerable populations. Also, the training will explore barriers to identification and challenges of trauma-informed responses.
Presentation 2: Addressing the Realities of Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Justice Involvement in Boston Municipal Courts, presented by Katie Bryce
This training will provide an overview of the Dee Kennedy Project, an initiative of the Massachusetts Trial Court. This initiative is a specialized court-based program to address the needs of justice involved adults who are victim-survivors of commercial sexual exploitation. The training will identify successes, struggles, and barriers encountered when starting and implementing a specialized court program for such a stigmatized population.
Presentation 3: Lessons from Boston HEAT: Outreach for Women at the Intersection of Substance Use Disorder and Commercial Sexual Exploitation, presented by Abigail M. Judge
This training will focus on Lessons from the Boston Human Exploitation and Trafficking (HEAT) program through Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). This initiative supports women at the intersection of substance use disorder and ongoing Commercial Sexual Exploitation through specialized outreach spaces where women already are: on the street; in the house of correction, and partnering hospitals. This training will illustrate the radical shifts in practice needed to engage and support the CSE population, including cross-sector collaboration, low-threshold service locations, and clinical-peer leadership.
Facilitators

Amy Farrell, Ph.D., Co-Director of the Violence and Justice Research Lab and Director and Professor, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Northeastern University
Katie Bryce, Project Coordinator, Dee Kennedy Project, Executive Office of the Massachusetts Trial Court
Abigail M. Judge, Ph.D. Founder and Co-Director, Boston Human Exploitation and Trafficking (HEAT) at Massachusetts General Hospital and Instructor, Harvard Medical School.

Event Location
This training is hosted by the Massachusetts Center of Excellence for Specialty Courts. Register at the button below.
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Audience
This training is for members of the Massachusetts Executive Office of the Trial Court, Massachusetts Probation Service, Massachusetts Office of Community Corrections, professionals working with Massachusetts Specialty Courts and related programs, and those professionals whose work intersects with the criminal-legal system.

Opioid Overdose Rescue and Prevention
2024-03-15 09:30 - 12:30 | https://macoe.org/event/opioid-overdose-rescue-and-prevention/
In the overdose rescue portion of this training, participants will learn about opioids and risk factors for overdose. They will then explore strategies for rescues and practice strategies through scenarios. In the overdose prevention portion, participants will explore strategies to address the risks of overdose with a harm reduction approach. The scenario-based training provides opportunities for discussion and practice about issues of safety, motivational interviewing, and moving toward behavior change.
Event location: This training is hosted and funded by the Department of Public Heath’s Office of Problem Gambling Services
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Opioid Overdose Rescue
2024-03-19 09:30 - 12:00 | https://macoe.org/event/opioid-overdose-rescue/
The participants will explore strategies to address the risks of overdose. The scenario-based training provides opportunities for discussion and practice and how to move towards behavior change.
Event Location: This training is hosted and offered in partnership with MA Department of Public Health, Bureau of Substance Addiction Services, Health Resources in Action (HRiA) & AdCare Educational Institute, Inc.
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Training of Trainers: Opioid Overdose Rescue
2024-04-10 09:30 - 16:00 | The Verve Hotel, 1360 Worcester Street, Natick, MA, 01760, United States
In-Person Training
This full-day training will prepare new trainers to deliver a two-hour overdose rescue training to members of their staff and communities. Participants will review the overdose rescue training curriculum, explore principles of adult learning theory, and practice skills to engage their trainees in interactive learning.
Event Location: This training is hosted and offered in partnership with MA Department of Public Health, Bureau of Substance Addiction Services, Health Resources in Action (HRiA) & AdCare Educational Institute, Inc.
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Boots On The Ground
2024-05-10 09:30 - 17:40 | https://macoe.org/event/boots-on-the-ground/
This full-day training will identify how community-based programming is critical in reducing stigma and racial disparities in access to opioid use disorder services. The participants will explore strategies and solutions in how to work with youth in various settings and how to eliminate barriers to treatment and recovery while navigating the legal system.
Event Location: This training is hosted by The Twin Cities Recovery Project, INC. and is offered in partnership with Opioid Response Network, The Medical Discovery Team on Addiction, University of Minnesota Medical School, Black Faces Black Voices, and Recovery Research Institute.
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Opioid Overdose Rescue and Prevention
2024-06-04 09:30 - 15:00 | College of the Holy Cross (The Hogan Campus Center), 1 College Street, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States
In-Person Training
The participants will explore strategies to address the risks of overdose. The scenario-based training provides opportunities for discussion and practice and how to move towards behavior change.
Event Location: This training is hosted and offered in partnership with MA Department of Public Health, Bureau of Substance Addiction Services, Health Resources in Action (HRiA) & AdCare Educational Institute, Inc.
Register

Online Training Series: Working with Justice Involved Persons Who Use Methamphetamine | March Session
2025-03-10 13:00 - 15:00 | https://macoe.org/event/online-training-series-working-with-justice-involved-persons-who-use-methamphetamine-march-session
Training Description:
Working with people who use methamphetamine can be confusing for professionals, as methamphetamine use can present some unique issues and challenges. People who use methamphetamine may display behaviors that are easily misinterpreted as resistance or defiance. Court, treatment, and case outcomes improve when supervision, treatment, counsel, social services, health staff, and Court personnel know what to look for, what to expect, and how to address challenges.
This training will be packed with information and visuals for easy learning. Even though it is online, you will not be bored. Join us and bring your friends who need to know about this unique drug.
Learning Objectives:

Develop literacy in how to recognize methamphetamine unique behaviors in clients
Learn how to correctly respond with “what works” when addressing methamphetamine users in treatment courts, and in other settings.
Translate training into practice with tools that will make you more effective as you address these complex issues.

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Helen Harberts, M.A., J.D.
Helen Harberts, M.A., J.D., has worked in criminal justice since 1983. She began as an district attorney to Chief Deputy District Attorney of the Criminal Division in Butte County, CA. As Chief Probation Officer (1995-2002), she implemented adult and juvenile drugs courts, DUI Court utilizing naltrexone, Domestic Violence Court, and Mentally Ill Offenders Court, all based on the problem-solving court model. After a stint in probation, she returned to prosecution, practicing law exclusively in problem-solving courts for over five years before retiring in 2011. She later served as Interim Director of the Harris County (Texas) Community Supervision and Corrections Department in Houston. In 2013, she was inducted into the Stanley Goldstein Drug Court Hall of Fame for her contributions to treatment courts.
Ms. Harberts serves on the faculty oof the National Drug Court Institution, National Center for DWI Courts and (Now AllRise) National Judicial College. She has conducted site visits and training for SAMHSA and helped develop the 10 Guiding Principles of DWI Courts and the Practitioner’s Training Series for NADCP. She has contributed to the Judicial Benchbook and has trained in all 50 states and internationally. Ms. Harberts continues to consult and train on improving outcomes in treatment courts and supervision.

Online Training Series: Working with Justice Involved Persons Who Use Methamphetamine | April Session
2025-04-04 13:00 - 15:00 | https://macoe.org/event/online-training-series-working-with-justice-involved-persons-who-use-methamphetamine-april-session/

Outcomes By Design: Unlocking Treatment Court Results Through Standards of Practice - Central Area Training
2025-10-06 09:30 - 15:00 | Massachusetts Probation Service Training & Operations Center, 55 Green St, Clinton, MA, 01510
Outcomes By Design: Unlocking Treatment Court Results Through Standards of Practice is an in-person training series brought to you in your geographic area by the Executive Office of the Massachusetts Trial Court’s Specialty Courts Department and the Massachusetts Center of Excellence for Specialty Courts. The series is designed to deepen understanding of best practices across all treatment court roles. Recognizing that shared learning and continuous improvement are at the heart of effective operations, this series brings practitioners in the same geographic areas together to learn, reflect, and grow.
The series will run continuously on a Fall (October-December) and Spring (April-June) cycle. Treatment Courts within a geographic area will be invited to attend in-person trainings twice per year, with each session highlighting specific standards of practice. The Fall 2025 training will focus on responding to goal infractions and recognizing achievements that support participant success.
Trial Court employees will receive training credits for participation. Please follow the Trial Court Policy for obtaining manager approval to attend.
Pre-Training Learning
Prior to the Fall 2025 training, please register and complete the following online trainings:
Incentives, Sanctions & Service Adjustments: Part 1
Incentives, Sanctions & Service Adjustments: Part 2

Outcomes By Design: Unlocking Treatment Court Results Through Standards of Practice - Metro Boston Area Training
2025-10-27 09:30 - 15:00 | Massachusetts Probation Service, 1 Ashburton Place, Boston, MA, 02108

Outcomes By Design: Unlocking Treatment Court Results Through Standards of Practice - Northeastern Area Training
2025-10-31 09:30 - 15:00 | Andover Police Department, 32 N. Main Street, Andover, MA, 01810

Outcomes By Design: Unlocking Treatment Court Results Through Standards of Practice - Western Area Training
2025-11-03 09:30 - 15:00 | Smith College Conference Center – Paradise Conference Room, 49 College Lane, Northampton, MA, 01060

Outcomes By Design: Unlocking Treatment Court Results Through Standards of Practice - Southeastern Area Training
2025-11-07 09:30 - 15:00 | Plymouth Jury Pool Room, Plymouth Court Complex, 52 Obery Street, Plymouth, MA, 02360
