Five anti-substance abuse programs overseen by four organizations will be seeking a 17.6% increase in funding for 2022.
The total of $1.24 million in funding, which represents $186,515 more than what was approved for this year, received a preliminary recommendation Wednesday from the Substance Abuse Public Funding Board.
While each of the five proposed budgets was unanimously passed, the board can only make funding recommendations. Final decisions are placed in the hands of elected officials on the city and county councils. These requests are usually funded on a 50/50 basis by the city and county.
Both the city and county councils will begin 2022 budget hearings that include these recommendations in the next few months.
Alliance for Substance Abuse Progress (ASAP) – Hub.
Total request: $521,839 (up from $499,641 this year)
Opened in Sept. 2019, the hub in the Doug Otto United Way Building provides resources needed to recover from addiction, including referrals to already existing programming. The hub also helps with navigating the health care, insurance systems, resources for connecting to community services, and even the basics of obtaining food, housing and transportation.
Retiring ASAP Executive Director Doug Leonard says some of the requested increase will be earmarked for a grant writer, who can help make the HUB more self-sustaining. Currently, the organization depends on a grant writer from Columbus Regional Health who is available for only a few hours a week, he told the board. If the funding is approved, Leonard says an experienced, but retired grant writer is the prime candidate to be brought on board.
The other unmet need included in the new proposed funding is for a full-time, Spanish-speaking bilingual staff member, Leonard said. In the past few years, the hub has seen very few members of the local Hispanic population, which is the second-largest ethnic group in Bartholomew County, he said.
ASAP – Housing
Total request: $51,759
There are now 10 different sober living or recovery homes in the Columbus area. The demand has increased to the level where it will take numerous homes to fill the gap. Current estimates have an estimated 90 recovery beds in Bartholomew County. But with more houses expected to open in the next six to 12 months, Leonard said that roughly 350 to 450 people will be served in these homes annually.
The funds being sought will allow ASAP to hire a full-time sober home liaison who would work to ensure these homes maintain a positive community image, the retiring ASAP director said. That individual would also act as a navigator to ensure that those looking for a recovery home are able to find one that fits their needs and situation, he said.
The liaison would also strive to ensure 12-step recovery meetings are following best practices, as well as meet with house managers to foster familiarity and trust, as well as bring up common issues in each home.
Leonard spoke of the need to establish a reentry home specifically designed for those who have just gotten out of jail.
Recovery Enables a Life for Men (REALM)
Total request: $215,878 (up from $205,042 this year)
Modeled after a successful Community Corrections program for women, the goal of REALM is to provide comprehensive, evidence-based residential treatment that focuses on the substance abuse needs of 30 to 40 male offenders annually.
Since REALM began in early 2010, 53 inmates have participated. Of the men who have successfully completed the program, their risk of committing another offense has been reduced by almost 48%, according to Bartholomew County Director of Community Corrections Rob Gaskill.
The additional money being sought for next year would provide a 4% increase in salary to two residential officers that are currently being funded by the ASAP public fund, Gaskill said. The request also includes $6,970 to fill in a funding gap to pay a case manager that is not covered in already-acquired grants.
Adult Drug Recovery Court (DRC)
Total request: $115,292 (up from $103,951 this year)
The DRC integrates evidence-based substance abuse treatment, mandatory drug testing, sanctions, incentives and transitional services. The goal is to reduce recidivism and substance abuse among high risk or high need individuals, Bartholomew Circuit Court Judge Kelly Benjamin told the funding board.
When court officials did their original planning, the funding for this year was supposed to be $207,000. However, Bartholomew County officials have contributed $80,900 directly to the salary and benefits of a second case manager that will split his or her caseload between DRC and the Family Recovery Court, the judge said. With the financial assistance from the city and county, the court hopes to expand its capacity from a maximum of 25 participants this year to 35 to 40 participants in 2022, Benjamin said.
The program will also begin looking for new forms of funding because a federal Bureau of Justice Assistance grant will expire at the end of next year.
Some of the funding increase will be used to provide 4% salary increases to key members of DRC who will likely be facing a larger work load next year, Benjamin said. It would also provide extra drug tests and incentives to court participants.
Bartholomew Jail Addiction Treatment Program.
Total request: $340,291 (up from $249,910 this year)
Opened in early 2020, this program provides treatment for nonviolent offenders with historical disorders of addiction and mental illness. Candidates who meet the criteria receive group and individual therapy for up to 16 weeks. Upon graduation, they receive treatment for an additional 6 to 12 weeks. About a third of the 292 male and female offenders who have applied for the program have been accepted, jail addiction treatment coordinator Theresa Patton said.
The funding being sought is for staffing next year, Bartholomew County Chief Deputy Sheriff Maj. Chris Lane said. It would involve making Patton a contracted employee paid $145,000 annually without benefits. Last year, we asked for one full-time recovery counselor, but two part-time counselors who wouldn’t be paid benefits. However, there have been no qualified candidates willing to work part-time hours, Lane said.
"Even the full time position took us three to four months to get it filled," Lane said.
So Lane is proposing that another full-time counselor be hired with benefits instead of two part-timers.
