LOCAL COURTS AWARDED GRANTS FOR FUNDING

Area courts have been awarded a number of grants to fund their special problem solving court programs for the 2017-18 fiscal year that started Oct. 1.
In Berrien County, the Berrien County Trial Court received $105,000 from state agencies to fund drug treatment programs. Funding came from the Michigan State Court Administrator’s Office, Southwest Michigan Behavioral Health and the Michigan Office of Community Corrections.
County officials said the funding will allow the trial court to continue to work with 30 to 40 people this year in the court’s drug treatment and related programs. That comes down to a cost of about $3,000 per participant which is much less than the $35,000 it costs to house a prisoner in a state prison.
The Michigan State Court Administrator’s Office also awarded a joint grant of $265,000, to the Berrien/Cass Regional Mental Health Court which is operated by the Berrien County Trial Court and the Cass County Circuit Court.
Cass County court officials also have reported the receipt of state funding for court programs. They reported that the Cass County Probate/Family Court will get $100,000 for the Family Treatment Court drug court program and Cass Circuit Court will get $175,000 for the Swift and Sure Sanctions Probation Program.
Cass County District Court will get $65,000 from the Michigan Drug Court Grant Program for the Adult Treatment Court and Sobriety Court and $70,000 from the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistant Grant Program.
All of the specialty courts come under the state’s designation of “problem-solving courts” which the state court website describes as “innovative programs designed to address an offender’s underlying problems.” Local courts and their service staff receive training and funding to oversee the drug treatment, mental health and sobriety programs.
“Continued funding for problem-solving courts is evidence of a changing perspective embracing treatment for, instead of simply jailing, persons struggling with alcohol and/or drug addiction who are involved in the court system,” Cass Chief Judge Susan Dobrich said. She created and oversees the county’s Family Treatment Court.
The goal of problem-solving courts is to treat the symptom of addiction when addicts are charged with a crime. Treating the symptom with only incarceration will not cure the offenders of their disease which results in them returning to their old habits after getting out of jail or prison, a Cass court press release stated.
Statistics compiled in the Michigan Supreme Court Problem-Solving Court Report showed that graduates of Michigan drug courts are two times less likely to commit another offense after two years and that graduates of Michigan sobriety courts are more than three times less likely to commit another offense after two years.
In addition, unemployment among adult circuit court drug court graduates was slashed by 85 percent and dropped by 75 percent among sobriety court graduates.
Overall, the problem-solving court programs have proven to improve outcomes not only for participants but for their families and the community as a whole. That in turn means substantial savings for taxpayers as program graduates are less likely to commit another crime.
The state grant award announcements coincided with the annual observance of National Recovery Month. National Recover Month serves to educate people that substance use treatment and mental health services can enable those with a mental and/or substance use disorder can live a healthy and rewarding life.
In addition to the state funding, Cass County court officials announced that they’ve been awarded a $12,000 grant from the United Way for the Cass County Foster Child Enrichment Project. The goal of the program is to better serve neglected and/or abused children.
The Cass County Family Court will use the extra funding to address foster children’s unmet basic needs and to provide for enrichment services and supplies. The court works with DHHS representatives, children’s Guardian-Ad-Litems, children’s therapists and caregivers and others to help children.
“Providing children with items that many children outside the child welfare system take for granted makes a big difference in how children view themselves and the world, which may lead to the children striving to better achieve, as well as impacting how the children are viewed by their peer group and others,” Judge Dobrich said.