An interventional study of CourtConnect and Information Only in Substance Use Disorder (SUD), sponsored by RTI International. Not yet recruiting at 2 sites in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 100 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-07-14.
Sponsored by RTI International · Not applicable, Interventional, and Health services research
This project is a hybrid type I clinical trial to assess the effectiveness and implementation determinants of a peer-led court navigation program for people who use drugs and are passing through county courthouses. Courthouses are a common point of contact for people with behavioral health needs, but outside of specialty court models, they remain underexplored as a setting for connecting people to substance use disorder treatment and related services. This study will test whether court navigation led by peer recovery specialists can increase receipt of substance use disorder treatment and reduce overdose and incarceration. Peer court navigators will meet with participants in courthouse settings, assess their needs, provide information and referrals, and offer follow-up support for up to 3 months. Peer recovery specialists, who have lived experience with substance use recovery, are increasingly being integrated into criminal legal and community-based settings; however, peer-led court navigation remains an innovative and understudied approach.
2,238 studies on the registry are indexed under Substance-Related Disorders; 409 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 600 is above the median of 108 across 1,840 interventional studies indexed under Substance-Related Disorders.
Browse Substance-Related Disorders studies →RTI International is the lead sponsor of 84 studies on the registry; 18 are open to participants now.
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Exclusion Criteria:
CourtConnect is the intervention. It connects individuals in courthouses with peer court navigators who provide information, referrals, and support to address substance use disorder treatment needs and related health and social needs. Navigation begins in the courthouse and continues in the community through follow-up support for up to 3 months.
Behavioral: CourtConnect
Participants assigned to the information-only group receive information about health and social services in the community from a non-peer research assistant. They do not receive peer court navigation or follow-up support from a peer court navigator.
Other: Information Only
CourtConnect connects individuals in courthouses with peer court navigators who provide information, referrals, and support to address substance use disorder treatment needs and related health and social needs. Navigation begins in the courthouse and continues in the community through follow-up support for up to 3 months.
Participants assigned to the information-only group receive information about health and social services in the community from a non-peer research assistant. They do not receive peer court navigation or follow-up support from a peer court navigator.
Administratively documented substance use disorder treatment engagement
This participant-level outcome will indicate whether a participant has any administratively documented substance use disorder treatment engagement within 90 days after baseline. Treatment engagement will be determined from linked state administrative records, including Medicaid claims for substance use disorder treatment services and prescription drug monitoring program records showing dispensed medications used to treat substance use disorder. For participants without administratively documented substance use disorder treatment during the 90 days before baseline, a qualifying post-baseline record will be classified as treatment initiation. For participants with administratively documented substance use disorder treatment during the 90 days before baseline, a qualifying post-baseline record will be classified as continued treatment engagement. The outcome will be reported as the proportion of participants in each study arm with administratively documented treatment engagement.
Time frame: 90 days after baseline
Number of participants with a fatal or nonfatal overdose
Fatal and nonfatal overdose will be measured using statewide vital records and emergency medical records from ambulance services and hospital emergency departments. Participants will be classified as having experienced an overdose if records show a fatal overdose or an encounter for a nonfatal overdose during the 12 months after baseline.
Time frame: 12 months after baseline
Number of participants with a jail booking or prison entry
Incarceration through jail booking or prison entry will be measured using statewide criminal legal records. Participants will be classified as having experienced incarceration if records show a booking into a jail facility or entry into the state prison system during the 12 months after baseline.
Time frame: 12 months after baseline
Plan to share: Yes — The investigators will enroll 600 subjects over 24 months with 12 months of follow-up data by linking administrative records (e.g., prescription fills, emergency department/emergency medical services encounters, mortality, arrests/jail bookings) to survey contents that will include demographics, substance use disorder and treatment history, criminal legal system involvement, social constructs (self-efficacy, motivation, stigma), and harmonized measures. The National Institutes of Health requires that the study team release study data. The investigators will preserve and share de-identified survey datasets (with codebooks), and project documentation (protocols, instruments); derived variables from linked administrative data will be shared, while raw state administrative source files obtained under data use agreements will not be shared. The publicly released scientific data will include only fully de-identified data.
Supporting information: Study protocol, Analytic code
Time frame: IPD and additional supporting information will be archived in the National Addiction \& HIV Data Archive Program (NAHDAP), assigned persistent identifiers, and made available as soon as possible and no later than the earlier of the primary publication or the end of the performance period, whichever comes first.
Access criteria: After project completion, only de-identified datasets will be made available as public-use files and deposited in repositories for broader research, teaching, replication. Shared data will be provided in open, non-proprietary formats, along with parallel Stata/R scripts and a README so that no specialized software is required to access or manipulate the data. Publicly shared datasets will receive a DOI to facilitate sharing, citation, and version control. Access will be controlled when there is any non-trivial re-identification risk or when required by data use agreements. In those cases, repositories will gate access under standard data use agreements that prohibit re-identification and onward sharing, require secure storage and destruction at project end, and log requestor credentials and approved uses. Raw state administrative source files received under data use agreements will not be shared; only de-identified, derived variables constructed from those sources will be deposited.
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Jul 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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RTI International