County staff seek MOU with Notre Dame for pop-up pregnancy events and permission to apply for corrections-related grant

A county presenter asked the St. Joseph County board to approve a memorandum of understanding with the University of Notre Dame to support four pop-up pregnancy events over the coming year and also requested approval to submit a grant application to the EOT for programs that the presenter described as covering community corrections, probation supervision, domestic violence supervision and a felony pretrial program.

The presenter said one event already occurred and that the county was allowed to provide an invitation at that event without an MOU. Staff requested formal approval to sign the MOU so the county could provide materials or services at future events and to ensure a formal arrangement between the county and the university.

Separately, the same presenter — identified in the record as the vice president of the Community Protection Advisory Board — asked the board to approve submitting a grant application to EOT that would fund multiple services, including community corrections and supervision programs. The presenter said the application would include those program elements; no grant amount or funding breakdown was provided in the transcript.

During the discussion a county speaker summarized the request succinctly: “So we’re just reflecting a letter of approval to apply.” Another unidentified speaker commented, “These projects do not have to be all or nothing,” expressing a general view that partial or phased approaches might be acceptable.

No formal motion, second or vote tally for either the MOU or the grant application was recorded in the provided transcript. The presenter asked for the board’s support and permission to proceed; the record does not show a final decision.