Van buren county courts is requesting funding for one adult drug court (ADC) and one sobriety court (SC), also known as driving under the influence courts

The U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) awarded a $1,000,000 Project Grant under the Treatment Court Discretionary Grant Program (CFDA 16.585) to Van Buren County Courts. The grant will fund the enhancement of one Adult Drug Court (ADC) and one Sobriety Court (SC) program, targeting high-risk/high-need adults with substance use disorders involved in the criminal justice system. The key activities include expanding access to medication-assisted treatment, recovery support services, and evidence-based treatment curricula focused on trauma, cultural competency, and criminal thinking. The grant will also support the implementation of the ReConnect app to enhance program operations, such as coordinating participant requirements, providing mobile drug testing, and analyzing data to address disparities. The performance period for this award is from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2028.

The ADC has a pre- & post-adjudication track, while the SC has a post-adjudication track. The target population is high-risk/high-need adults charged with one or more non-violent felony or misdemeanor offenses and whose substance use contributed to their involvement with the criminal justice system. All three types of medication-assisted therapy services are available to participants. The proposed enhancement project is seeking funds to enhance court operations; provide access to and/or enhance treatment capacity and other critical support services (i.e., recovery support services); and enhance the collection and use of key ADC and SC operation and outcome data. The service area includes van buren county (rural jurisdiction). The projects goals include expand participants access to treatment services in van buren county; expand participants access to recovery support services; and increase the capacity of the ADC and SC to meet the needs of individuals with substance use disorders or CO-occurring disorders involved with the criminal justice system. The activities to be implemented include providing evening treatment groups; overdose education & naloxone administration training; and gender-specific, evidence-based curricula in the areas of trauma (seeking safety & helping men recover), cultural competency (habilitation empowerment accountability therapy (H.E.A.T) and & habilitation empowerment recovery (H.E.R)), and criminal thinking (moving on). In terms of increasing program capacity, the reconnect APP will be used to coordinate and facilitate program requirement, provide mobile drug testing, provide team members with professional development and training opportunities, and examine program data for disparities and provide appropriate recommendations.