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Jail administrator seeks commissioners’ support for $250,000 opioid-recovery grant
Summary
The jail administrator told commissioners he applied for a $250,000 attorney-general grant to expand addiction and mental‑health services for inmates and asked commissioners to pledge support if the award is offered; county opioid settlement funds were discussed as a potential supplement.
Dave Bobby, the jail administrator, asked the commissioners to support a $250,000 grant application he submitted to the Ohio attorney general’s office for expanded recovery services at the county jail.
Bobby said the grant would “add almost double the services that we’re providing right now” and that the application requests only a pledge of support from the commissioners; he said the grant did not require a local match. “One of the criteria…wants to talk about sustainability. So I just wanted to come to the commissioners and ask…if we get this grant, will you pledge to support the grant at some point?” Bobby said.
Why it matters: Jail officials said inmate population has risen — Bobby cited January population at 200 and a recent daily count near 288 — while staffing has not increased. He said more recovery and mental‑health services in the jail will affect people who return to Trumbull County communities after release and argued that expanded programs are a public‑health and public‑safety measure.
Funding context - Commissioners and staff said approximately $2.2 million of opioid-settlement funds are currently held and available for programming; officials discussed coordinating with the prosecutor’s office on appropriate use. - Bobby said the grant may be renewable for two or three years and would not require matching funds in the application he filed.
Process and next steps - Bobby asked only for an acknowledgement that commissioners were aware of the application and supportive if the AG’s office requests confirmation. “If somebody from the prosecutor’s office calls or the attorney general’s office says, ‘hey, we’re talking about this grant,’ you’re aware of what I applied for,” Bobby said. - Commissioners indicated support for pursuing grants for departments and for coordination on using opioid-settlement dollars where appropriate.
Ending Bobby said he will coordinate with the prosecutor’s office and commissioners as requests or award notices come in; commissioners did not commit public matching funds at the meeting but expressed openness to support eligible departmental grants.
