Richland County Health & Human Services on an expedited agenda vote approved a $5,000 opioid-settlement-funded incentive grant for the county treatment court and agreed to forward a larger training request to the county board for approval.

Savannah Hubert, the grant/treatment coordinator, described the incentive program and its uses: “Treatment court is an incentive-based program. Participants in our program are rewarded for doing well within the program, making good decisions, showing up…A big use of these funds goes towards incentives, supplies, graduation purchases…[and] transportation.” She said the program was awarded $5,000 in 2025 and had spent a little over $3,000 so far this year.

Hubert also presented a separate application asking opioid-settlement funds to send up to eight team members to the All Rise National Conference in Nashville in July 2026. The application estimated total costs between $16,000 and $17,000 depending on travel choices. Hubert said the conference offers sessions for rural treatment courts and that the team hopes to implement two new practices or program improvements by June 2027 after attending workshops and collecting materials.

Committee members asked about available funds and signatures on the application. Staff reported at least $167,000 was currently in the opioid-settlement account and that additional funds would arrive over the settlement term; staff said investments also contribute to the fund balance. With that context, the committee voted by voice to forward the conference funding request to the county board for approval.

The $5,000 incentive renewal was approved at the meeting by voice vote after a motion and second; the committee recorded the approval without a roll-call tally. The conference attendance request will next appear on the county board docket for final approval. If approved and funded, the conference is scheduled for July 26, 2026, and staff said they aim to implement at least two practices by June 2027.