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Superior Court accepts $100,250.15 opioid‑abatement grant to fund instant lab and three part‑time positions
Summary
The Newton County Superior Court received and the board accepted a $100,250.15 Georgia Opioid Abatement Trust Grant to lease an on-site instant lab and fund two part‑time collectors and a part‑time lab director to serve accountability and drug courts; staff said they will seek CACJ operational funds to sustain positions after the one‑time award.
The Newton County Board of Commissioners accepted a $100,250.15 award from the Georgia Opioid Abatement Trust on May 19 to support an on-site instant toxicology lab and staffing for the county’s accountability and drug courts.
The presentation, made by the Superior Court bench, explained the funds will cover equipment leased through the Council of Accountability Court Judges (CACJ) and pay three part‑time positions: two lab collectors and one lab director. The judge said there is no local match required for the award and described the equipment as a Thermo Fisher instant-lab system that returns numeric results, which staff said will reduce reliance on the less‑precise “Instacup” tests currently used and save confirmatory lab costs in many cases.
Court personnel, including accountability‑court coordinator Christie Harden, described operational benefits: improved numeric results for screening, the ability to send samples for confirmation if a participant disputes a result, and potential shared collection sites across Newton and Walton counties to improve convenience for participants who travel to court.
The presenters said the grant is one-time. Christie Harden told the board she plans to apply for CACJ operating grant funds in future budget cycles to sustain the positions if needed. The board approved both acceptance of the award and establishment of the positions so HR can post them; the transcript shows motions carried but does not supply a roll‑call tally.
