Commissioners approve health, veterans and substance-use grants and agreements

The Salem County Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved five Health & Human Services resolutions June 18 to accept and execute multiple grants and agreements that support veterans transportation, public-health infrastructure, substance-use prevention and a partnership with Cooper Health System.

The items (E1–E5) included acceptance of a grant from the New Jersey Department of Veterans and Military Affairs to provide veteran transportation services for the period July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026; acceptance of the Southern Coastal Fund Wellness Grant Program; authorization to continue the county’s Municipal Alliance agreement with the Governor’s Council on Substance Use Disorder for the municipal alliance program for July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026; an amendment adding funding to the sustaining local public health infrastructure grant; and approval of an agreement between the Salem County Department of Health and Human Services and Cooper Health System for comprehensive health services.

Why it matters: these actions fund services for veterans, bolster local public-health capacity and support substance-use prevention programming. The motions were made, seconded and adopted by unanimous voice vote during the meeting.

Next steps: county staff were authorized to execute the agreements and incorporate the grant funding into the department budgets; exact dollar amounts were not read during the portions of the meeting captured in the transcript and should be confirmed in formal grant documents and appropriations.