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Wilkes County accepts two-year LEAD grant to expand pre-booking diversion
Summary
The Board accepted a two-year North Carolina DHHS Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) grant to create liaison positions and family-oriented recovery coaching to divert low-level substance and mental-health cases from jail into community services.
Wilkes County accepted a two-year Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) grant from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services at the Jan. 6 meeting.
Major Logan Kerr of the Sheriff’s Office described LEAD as "a prebooking diversion that offers an alternative to arrest and prosecution for low-level crimes, especially those related to drug use, mental health, or poverty," and said local law enforcement, the two towns, and the Sheriff’s Office all support the program. Community partner Fred Brason, who helped develop the grant application, said the grant will fund liaison positions in participating departments and a family-oriented recovery coach to coordinate referrals to community services so individuals with substance-use or mental-health needs can receive treatment instead of being booked into jail.
The Board unanimously accepted the grant. Commissioners discussed sustainability and potential continuation beyond the grant term; Brason said the program could be folded into departmental budgets or re-applied for when grant funds expire.
