DuBois County commissioners commit county match to FSSA opioid-prevention grant application

DuBois County commissioners voted Sept. 15 to formally commit the county to match a state FSSA opioid-prevention grant if the award is made to DuBois County.

The county’s Justice Reinvestment Act advisory committee (JRAAC) and a local nonprofit, CARES, have been working on a proposal for evidence-based prevention and early-intervention programming aimed at juveniles. The program period described in the discussion would start July 2026 and run through June 30, 2028, and would pair school-based prevention curriculum with diversion and probation-office participation.

The county presented the proposal at the meeting and described it as a matching grant application to the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration. The proponents said the project would expand school-based prevention and give probation staff the ability to facilitate brief group sessions for at-risk youth. Probation staff described two curricula under consideration, including a program the county said CARES already uses and ‘‘Too Good for Drugs,’’ and noted the prosecutor’s office and probation office were partners in the effort.

Funding numbers were discussed at length and clarified during the meeting. Speakers described an initial project budget framework in which an FSSA award could total roughly $150,000 with local and other partner match, but county staff later told the board the current ask of the county is a commitment to provide $100,000 over two years if the grant is awarded. County officials said that commitment would not require spending if the state did not make the award.

Probation staff emphasized the juvenile focus. “This absolutely is a missing piece that we’ve had with our juvenile population,” said a probation-office representative, citing cases in which early minor offenses later led to long-term consequences for young people.

Commissioner [motion-maker, not named in record] moved that the county formally commit to matching the FSSA grant award if the grant is awarded to DuBois County; another commissioner seconded. The board voted in favor; the chair announced the motion carried.

The board and staff said they would sign a letter of support and formally transmit a county commitment as part of the grant application process. County staff also said that if the county’s commitment becomes a formal appropriation requirement it will be brought back to the board and county council for budget action.

The vote was recorded by voice; no roll-call tally was read into the record beyond the unanimous “aye”s called at the meeting.

Going forward, staff said they will finalize the letter of support, share the application materials with the board, and, if the award is made, return with any required appropriation or formal contracting documents.