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Recovery Court expansion and federal grant reduce county burden; open-abatement funds directed to recovery court and DARE
Summary
The commission recommended $20,000 in open-abatement funds to the Third Judicial District Recovery Court and $10,000 to a local DARE program; recovery-court presenters said a SAMHSA expansion grant covers many program costs, while participant fees and state grants reimburse other services.
The Finance Committee recommended allocation of open-abatement funds and heard a standing presentation from recovery-court staff explaining how federal and state grants are supporting program expansion.
The committee voted to recommend $20,000 to the Third Judicial District Recovery Court for support services and $10,000 for the DARE program. The committee noted these are recommendations from the finance committee that the full commission will accept or reject.
Recovery Court staff explained the program's funding mix. A federal SAMHSA expansion grant provides up to $400,000 a year for five years and is paying for expanded staff and drug-screening costs; those screens were described as a major recurring expense for the program. The recovery-court presenter said expansion-grant funds pay for personnel and treatment services in partnership with a licensed-provider contractor and that some previously county-funded line items are now grant-supported.
Staff also described a state grant for the mental-health court that reimburses expenditures and said the state recently increased that grant to support expansion across other counties in the judicial district. Recovery Court staff said participants pay a $1,000 program fee before graduation and that, with roughly 90 participants currently enrolled, those fees generate significant revenue that goes into the county general fund (presenter noted about 60 participants are from Hamblen County).
Committee members thanked staff and noted the program reduces jail population pressure. A member of the committee observed that without the program and grants, many participants could otherwise be in the county jail; recovery-court staff estimated nearly 60 of the program's participants are county residents and said those people would otherwise drive additional jail demand.
Committee members asked staff to continue presenting cost and outcome information as grant funding phases and participant caseloads evolve.
