Johnson County accepts $200,000 state grant to expand family substance‑use prevention programs

The Johnson County Board of County Commissioners voted 5-0 Feb. 27 to accept a $200,000 Kansas Fights Addiction Grant from the state of Kansas to support Strengthening Families and Empower Parents programs for substance‑use prevention.

The grant was presented by Tanner Fortney, a member of the county mental health staff. Fortney said the award would fund curriculum development, online resources and technology for participants, and that none of the funding would be used to add county full‑time positions. “This is a grant that we can apply for every year,” Fortney said. “If that funding were to go away, then we would use other funding sources…or, worst case scenario, we might have to scale it back. But the program would not be dependent upon this funding source.”

The board’s vote followed a short discussion about program metrics and cost impact. Commissioner Myers moved to accept the grant; Commissioner Allenbrand seconded. Vice Chair Janae Hanslick, Commissioners Fast, Ashcraft, Myers and Allenbrand all voted in favor.

Fortney described evaluation plans the department already uses and intends to expand. Program staff use an evidence‑based pre‑ and post‑survey instrument to measure participant learning, he said, and are developing longitudinal tracking in partnership with corrections to follow participants for 12, 18 and 24 months to look for changes in justice system contacts, school performance and family functioning.

Commissioners praised the mental health center’s data efforts and said the county’s approach to metrics strengthened support for the programs. There was no discussion of new staff or recurring county budget impacts tied directly to the grant beyond the authorized one‑time reallocation of fund balance for FY2025.

The grant acceptance authorizes reallocation and expenditure of $200,000 from fund balance reserves for FY2025 to pay for the program expansion.