Warren County approves Family Treatment Court using opioid-abatement funds

Warren County commissioners on a unanimous vote approved the creation of a Family Treatment Court intended to provide treatment, drug screening and counseling for juvenile families affected by opioid addiction. The program, presented to the commission as separate from the county’s existing adult recovery court, will be funded from opioid-abatement dollars and is scheduled to begin rolling out March 1.

A presenter identified in the hearing described the program as offering ‘‘drug screenings and getting them what they need and hopefully get these people back out in the community and not having to go back and forth in jail,’’ and said the court would include counseling and incentive-based supports. The presenter named Key Ford as a lead therapist/counselor role and said Jason Ellis had provided some incentives for participants.

Commissioners were told the program will initially enroll a small number of families—three or four at first—with a maximum caseload of about 10 families at a time. The speaker said the Family Treatment Court will operate through general sessions and will address services that the public defender’s office cannot provide.

The commission recorded the vote on the amendment establishing the Family Treatment Court as 21 to 0. Meeting materials and a speaker at the session indicated a fuller presentation on the opioid abatement council and the Family Treatment Court would be provided at next month’s meeting.

The commission did not specify in the hearing the program’s detailed budget, staffing plan or the precise legal mechanism for court referrals; those details were said to be forthcoming in the promised presentation.