The mississippi band of choctaw indians (MBCI) is a federally recognized tribe located in east-central mississippi

This Project Grant award from the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance (CFDA 16.596 - Tribal Justice Assistance) provides $899,666.00 to the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians (MBCI) over a 5-year period starting on October 1, 2024. The funding will enable MBCI to restart and expand its Healing to Wellness Court program, which will deliver evidence-based substance abuse treatment and rehabilitation services to approximately 100 court-involved youth (ages 13-17) and adult offenders across the tribe's eight communities. Key program components include individual counseling, Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, and the Matrix Model intensive outpatient treatment. The goal is to reduce overall recidivism by 10% in the first year and 5% annually thereafter, while maintaining a 50%+ completion rate for participants.

With this funding the tribe will restart and expand mbcis healing to wellness court program. The purpose is to develop and support an evidence-based or evidence-informed treatment program that will provide services for court-involved youth ages 13 to 17 and adult offenders. This comprehensive approach to treatment will expand the availability of treatment for the courts in community-based rehabilitative programs which are spread across the eight tribal communities, located within nine mississippi counties. For the five-year term of the grant, tribal court seeks to serve 20 participants a year, for a total of 100 participants. The program will be designed for participation ranging 16 weeks up to 12 months, as IT continuously supports treatment and aftercare services. Youth and adults will not share activities. In partnership with choctaw behavioral health, choctaw law enforcement and established community-based rehabilitative programs such as celebrate recovery, the healing to wellness court program plans to incorporate individual counseling and therapy, alcoholics anonymous (12-STEP) meetings, and the matrix model as an evidence-based, intensive outpatient program for alcohol and drug treatment participants. MBCI plans to establish the healing to wellness court program according to the national guidelines adapted to a tribal community. The projects major outcomes are to: support interventions, treatment, and rehabilitative recovery services, offered by qualified professionals and service providers; replace alcohol and other drug use with specific health and wellness activities; reduce overall recidivism by 10% within the first year, and with a yearly 5% decrease in recidivism by the end of the grant period, and; maintain a 50% or more completion rate for participants within the healing to wellness court program.