Drug Addiction Treatment Boosted by Drug Court Program

MARIETTA, Ohio - Aug. 8, 2018 - PRLog -- A drug court program that was shut down more than a decade ago is scheduled to be implemented again.

The program is aiming to reduce the rates of recidivism associated with substance use and boost the effectiveness of holistic addiction treatment provided in the region.

The drug court program was established in Washington County, where Marietta is located, in 2004 but in 2008 the county no longer had funds to maintain the program active and local officials had to shut the drug court down.

Last month, they announced that the county has sufficient funding in place to allow for the drug court program, which was considered to have successful outcomes, to return.

Officials announced that the first year of the drug court program is estimated to cost about $200,000 and that the county has enough capital to support the operation of drug court program for approximately one year and six months.

A total of $100,000 was provided by the county's Behavioral Health Board while approximately $160,000 has been allocated to the program through taxes collected by the Targeting Community Alternatives to Prison, which is required to be spent throughout 2019. Washington County officials explained that after that they will seek federal grants to maintain the drug court program active rather than use the county's funding.

Meetings with community members were held after the announcement about the reinstallation of the drug court program was made.

The events were called the Your Voice Mid-Ohio Valley Forums and held over three days to allow the public to express their thoughts on the upcoming drug court program.

Some community members emphasized that they believe addiction recovery specialists need to be brought on board to assist those who have substance use disorders and chose to participate in the drug court program.

Welch highlighted that she has already been prioritizing addiction treatment instead of sentences in her courtroom, which has resulted in some successful cases of reformation.

The drug court program is expected to be reinstalled by the end of this year.

https://www.drugaddictionnow.com/2018/08/08/addiction-tre...