Bartholomew County Substance Abuse Council has announced its grant distributions, sending $38,492 to substance abuse prevention and education programs.
For several years, churches, law enforcement, non-profits and other organizations have relied on these grants — from funds obtained from the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute — to help maintain long-established responses to alcohol and substance abuse problems.
The council is distributing the grants to 10 different organizations this year, Substance Abuse Council President Rick Scalf told the Bartholomew County commissioners on Monday. The grants fall into three general categories: Prevention and Education, Treatment and Intervention, and Criminal Justice Services, Scalf said.
Under state guidelines, each of those three categories cannot receive less than one-quarter of available funding, while no category can be allocated more than one-half, Scalf said.
2019 grant recommendations from the Bartholomew County Substance Abuse Council are:
Prevention and Education ($13,015 distributed)
Big Brothers/Big Sisters for youth mentoring programs. Requested $5,300, approved $4,300.
Community Church of Columbus for prevention and education programs in its Tuesday Connections programs. Requested $4,000, approved $3,000.
Reach Healthy Communities for tobacco cessation initiative. Received full request of $715.
Advocates for Children for youth support activities. Requested $3,000, approved $2,670.
Turning Point Domestic Violence Services for prevention and education. Requested $4,100, approved $3,000.
Treatment and Intervention ($11,963 distributed)
Community Church of Columbus for treatment and intervention programs. Requested $3,200, approved $2,583.
Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. Youth Care Fund. Received full request of $4,000.
St. Peter’s Lutheran Church for their LifeWorks intensive outpatient program and counseling materials. Requested $6,500, approved $4,380.
Turning Point Domestic Violence Services for treatment and intervention programs. Received full request of $1,000.
Criminal Justice Services ($11,514 distributed)
Bartholomew County Court Services for translation services: Received full request of $3,000.
Columbus Police Department to support overtime for narcotics officers. Received full request of $4,500.
Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department for Lidar (speed detection) units and portable breath-testers. Requested $6,860, approved $4,014.
As allowed by law, the substance abuse council did retain $2,000 to pay for its own administrative costs, Scalf said. Due to a clerical error, the council discovered they will have an additional $670 that can be allocated in next year’s grants, he said.
Both the Columbus Board of Public Works and Safety and the Bartholomew County commissioners have given their approval to the council’s recommendations, Scalf said.
Money for the grants is collected through court fees, not taxes, Scalf said.
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Agreements between the city and county to finance two significant projects recommended by the Alliance for Substance Abuse Progress have been approved.
On Monday, the Bartholomew Council commissioners approved interlocal agreements regarding billing arrangements for the Problem Solving Adult Drug Court. The two government entities are splitting the $92,603 cost to fund a part-time family law magistrate, special drug court prosecutor, public defender and other operating costs.
In addition, both the city and county have also agreed to each pay a one-time cost of $100,000 to help renovate the Fresh Start Recovery Program, a 23-bed residential facility that will provide addiction treatment for expectant women and mothers.
Expenditures for these two programs were given final approval last month by both the Columbus City and the Bartholomew County councils. The latest agreement simply spells out that the county will pay the costs, and later bill the city for their share of expenses.
A federal grant of $500,000 will be used over a four-year period for the drug court. Meanwhile, the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority is financing the $875,000 purchase of the building at 703 Washington St. for Fresh Start, with an additional $200,000 being provided by the Columbus Regional Health Foundation.
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