Funding for two programs to increase access to opioid addiction treatment are receiving financial support from the city.
The Columbus City Council approved requests on first reading Tuesday for nearly $300,000 in funding for an adult drug court and a women’s addiction treatment center.
The money will come from the Substance Abuse Non-Reverting Fund, which currently has around $1,250,000 in reserves.
The Bartholomew County Adult Drug Recovery Court would use evidence-based substance abuse and mental health training to help rebuild lives overtaken by drugs. Through therapy and transitional services, the intensely supervised court oversight program is aimed at keeping people out of jail.
Federal funding of $500,000 has already been obtained for the adult drug court from 2019-2022. Bartholomew Circuit Court Judge Kelly Benjamin is seeking $92,603, to fund a part-time family law magistrate, special drug court prosecutor and public defender, also fulfilling other costs including drug test supplies.
Benjamin said only 2019 expenses are currently being sought with plans to explore other funding sources in the future.
“When you look at the number of Level 6 offenders (low-level felons usually charged only with possession of illegal drugs), we had less than 100 in the year 2014,” Benjamin said. “By 2016, we were at 622. In 2017, there were 545. In 2018, there were 547. Already, the number of new Level 6 cases filed in January is higher than any month I’ve ever seen.”
If the Bartholomew County Council approves the request, both the city of Columbus and the county will pay an equal share of 50 percent of the $92,603 local cost for the court.
The city council also unanimously approved a grant request of $200,000 for the Volunteers of America Fresh Start Recovery Center. The 23-bed residential facility at 703 Washington St. will provide addiction treatment for expectant women and mothers.
The program allows up to two children under 5 years old to stay with their mother while she receives addiction rehab treatment. Different from programs that treat addicted mothers, Fresh Start allows women to undergo treatment for up to 75 days, nearly four times as long as the average stay.
At Columbus Regional Hospital, 137 newborn babies tested positive for illicit drugs since 2017. Its estimated that 20 neo-natal abstinence syndrome babies have been admitted to the intensive care unit for premature babies since 2017.
“It is voluntarily,” said Shannon Schumacher, vice president of the Volunteers for America Indiana organization. “No mom has to be in this program, however, the Department of Child Services will probably remove the child from their custody. That’s their reason for being in the program sometimes.”
Schumacher said the one-time funding request is designated to renovation costs of the former post office building. Both the city and county councils are being asked to equally split the $200,000 cost to complete the renovations.
“This is a home-run,” councilman at-large Tom Dell said, commending the organization for its program.
Both appropriations for the drug court and Fresh Start were approved on first reading by the city council, and will be considered on final reading at 6 p.m. Feb. 19 at Columbus City Hall council chambers.
The Bartholomew County Council will be asked to approve their share of the funding on Feb. 12. If the county also approves its share of funding for the two projects, both could be in operation by the beginning of April.
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The Bartholomew County Circuit Adult Drug Treatment Court will integrate evidence-based substance abuse treatment, mandatory drug testing, sanctions and incentives and transitional services in a judicially supervised court setting to reduce recidivism and substance about among high-risk/high-need individuals.
The new court will be supervised by Bartholomew Circuit Judge Kelly S. Benjamin, who hopes to have staff hired by the end of February and begin the court by April 1.
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Fresh Start Recovery Residential Treatment Center for Women is seeking $200,000 in funding to a fill a one-time gap in renovation expenses for a building at 703 Washington St., the former post office building.
The establishment of the Fresh Start Recovery Center — a 23-bed residential facility providing addiction treatment for expectant women and mothers — was announced last August. Their program is unique in that it allows female clients to have up to two children age 5 or younger live with them during their addiction treatment.
While the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority is financing the $875,000 purchase of the building at 703 Washington St., an additional $200,000 in funding is being provided by the Columbus Regional Health Foundation.
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