Bartholomew County had received almost the maximum amount allowable through a federal grant to establish a Problem Solving Adult Drug Court.
The U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance awarded the county $499,423 to fund the drug court from Jan. 1, 2019 through Dec. 31, 2022, Bartholomew County Court Services Director Brad Barnes said. That’s just shy of the maximum of $500,000 available through the program.
With a goal of reuniting families and repairing lives, drug courts create a team focused on rebuilding lives so individuals can re-enter the community rather than continue a cycle of repeated arrests and jail time, Bartholomew Circuit Judge Kelly Benjamin said earlier this year.
Research shows that 75 percent of drug court graduates remained arrest-free two years after their cases go through the court, Benjamin said. An online directory shows that there are now 46 adult drug courts already established or in the planning stages throughout Indiana’s 92 counties.
For more on this story, see Tuesday’s Republic.
