The city of meridian, mississippi, seeks to become one of the first bureau of justice assistance recognized community court in the state of mississippi to serve the struggling needs of our community

The City of Meridian, Mississippi has been awarded a $444,903 Project Grant from the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance Treatment Court Discretionary Grant Program (CFDA 16.585). The funding will support the planning and implementation of a Community Court in Meridian to address the needs of non-violent offenders, including homelessness, lack of high school equivalency degrees, job skill training, mental health struggles, and substance abuse.

The grant will allow Meridian to establish partnerships with local service providers to connect offenders with the necessary community-based support services. The Community Court is expected to serve approximately 25 new participants per quarter, with each participant's expected program participation lasting about six months. The funding will also support an independent evaluation of the program's success and employ a Community Court Liaison to ensure participants are connected to the services they need. This grant award aims to help Meridian become one of the first Bureau of Justice Assistance recognized Community Courts in the state of Mississippi.

We are requesting consideration of category 1 (planning and implementation) funding. Meridian served a population of 33,816 citizens compared to 41,000 in 2005, the poverty rate for meridian is 35%, and the average number of residents without a high school degree is over 22%. Many in the municipal courtroom need the basic ability to provide for themselves to avoid significant fines. This grant aims to implement a planning phase to create a recognized community court to address offenders' needs for assistance with homelessness, lack of high school equivalency degrees, job skill training, mental health struggles, and substance usage leading them to come before the court. The community court will depend significantly on community partners already providing many of the services the offenders need in low- cost or free programs. We will reward the offender's success by non-adjudicating non-violent crimes, and the court can waive mandatory sentencing. We estimate that this court will see approximately 25 new participants per quarter, and each participant's expected program participation is about six months. The total cost for this program is $593,204 for four years of funding. This funding will support an independent ongoing evaluation of the program's success and employ a community court liaison to ensure all participants are connected to the community services they need and meet the expectations of the community court.