Efforts to establish a Bartholomew County Problem Solving Adult Drug Court have shifted into high gear.
Last October, the U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance awarded the county $499,423 to fund the proposed drug court from Jan. 1, 2019 through Dec. 31, 2022. The awarded amount was just shy of the maximum $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.
On Tuesday, the Bartholomew County Council provided the drug court its first-year allocation from the four-year federal grant.
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The $124,063 allocation approved this week will allow a senior case manager to begin assessing referrals from all the other local judges as they come in, Bartholomew County Court Services Director Brad Barnes said.
In earlier appearances before the council, Barnes emphasized that criminals such as drug dealers are not eligible for the program that will handle no more than 30 defendants at a time. According to federal regulations, drug court cases involve substance dependent or addicted defendants with non-violent misdemeanor and felony charges.
While the money approved Tuesday will cover first year salaries of a case manager and a public defender, Benjamin said more steps must be taken in a short amount of time to get the drug court up and running this spring.
This morning, the Substance Abuse Advisory and Accountability Committee will be asked to recommend that ASAP provide a $92,003 grant request for the court. That money would be used to fund a special drug court prosecutor and a family law magistrate, as well as other costs such as drug tests. The committee meeting begins at 10 a.m. in Conference Room 3 at Columbus City Hall.
Since the drug court will take up more than a half day of Benjamin’s time per week, the judge is seeking a part-time magistrate who will handle family law cases to help keep the court’s workload manageable.
If the committee provides a favorable recommendation Friday, it will next go to the Substance Abuse Public Funding Board for its approval on Jan. 18, the judge said.
If approved by the ASAP boards, the Columbus City Council will initially be asked to approve their share of the funding on Feb. 5, Benjamin said If approved by the city, the final stop needed for final approval would be the Bartholomew County Council. In earlier funding requests, the city and county have agreed to each pay 50 percent of the costs.
Although the required provisional certification from the state to establish the drug court has not yet been provided, neither Benjamin nor Barnes are anticipating it will be denied.
Barring any unforeseen problems, Benjamin said she’s optimistic the drug court can be operational by April 1st.
If the drug court is established as planned, it will likely be in session four hours a week on Tuesday afternoons, and initially handle no more than 25 defendants at a time, 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. Research shows that 75 percent of drug court graduates remained arrest-free two years after their cases go through the court, the judge added.
This will be Bartholomew County’s third problem-solving court, which refers candidates to courts designed to address the underlying problems that contribute to criminal behavior and provide methods of resolving those problems.
The first, formed in early 2016, was the Veteran’s Court, while the second is the new Family Recovery Court that began last spring.
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The Substance Abuse Advisory and Accountability Committee will meet today at Columbus City Hall to consider a $92,003 grant request to help establish a problem-solving adult drug court in Bartholomew County.
The money being requested would be used to fund a special drug court prosecutor and a family law magistrate, as well as other costs such as drug tests.
The committee meeting begins at 10 a.m. in Conference Room 3 on the second floor of Columbus City Hall. If the committee gives the request their favorable recommendation, the request will move on to the Substance Abuse Public Funding Board on Jan. 18.
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Matt Miller has been unanimously chosen by his peers as president of the Bartholomew County Council for 2019.
A former deputy who now owns Raft To Rafters, Miller takes the leadership role that was held last by his one-time boss, former sheriff and current council member Mark Gorbett.
The council president not only oversees working sessions and formal meetings, but is also called upon frequently to serve as a spokesman for the entire seven-member council.
During their organization meeting, the county council also chose Bill Lentz as president pro-tem to run the proceedings if Miller is absent.
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