Centre County Agencies Seek $400,000 Grant for Drug Court

The upcoming drug court in Centre County may get a financial shot in the arm should the county be awarded a federal Bureau of Justice Assistance grant.

During this week’s regular meeting of the Centre County Board of Commissioners, several leaders from local agencies visited to ask the commissioners for support in the funding campaign.

“We came here today to discuss this grant opportunity and get some feedback before we move forward,” said Kathy Arbogast, assistant administrator for Centre County’s drug and alcohol program. “This grant would support the implementation and development of Centre County’s drug court.”

According to Arbogast, there is heavy competition for the funding. If granted, it would award the county $400,000 over a 36-month period to fund upfront costs and the addition of three new positions (two  supervisors and a case manager).

Arbogast said she is confident the county will qualify for the funding, as it did in 2009 when it was awarded a similar grant to initiate the county’s DUI court, which has proved to be working efficiently.

“Our DUI court is doing really good things, and we feel the drug court will fill a void in our system that’s necessary,” said Gene Lauri, director of the county’s criminal justice planning department. He noted the county’s H.O.P.E. (Heroin Opioid Prevention Education) Initiative, stating, “This is another program that will help us eliminate or reduce the number of overdose deaths in the county.”

Lauri said the intent of the drug court is to help people get the help they need without the harsh criminal penalties associated with the heroin and opioid epidemic. He said instead of targeting drug dealers, the idea of the program is to deal with the people who come in contact with the criminal justice system because of their use of the illegal substances.

He said only adults will be admitted to the program, and only those who violated their probation or parole, or other high-risk people, who may slip back into using.

Mark Smith, Centre County’s assistant district attorney, attended the meeting in support of the grant effort.

“This is going to be the latest, greatest tool in our toolbox against this heroin epidemic,” said Smith. “It’s a problem that’s not just facing Centre County, but the entire nation. The more tools we have to fight the problem, the much better off we will be.”

Arbogast said for the county to be eligible for the grant funding, it would be responsible for a match of about $133,000. She said the match can be made through in-kind donations and/or a cash match.

“When we were looking at similar funding in 2009, we were able to use the time of our consultants and partners as in-kind money, and I think through that, we were able to use $100,000 through in-kind matching funds for the DUI court. I expect similar numbers for this.”

The deadline to submit the application is Wednesday, Feb. 22, and Arbogast said the county will know if it has been awarded the grant in September, just one month before the drug court is supposed to open in the county.

“The timing couldn’t be any more perfect,” she said.

The commissioners offered their overwhelming support for the project and said the board would continue to assist the program in whatever capacity it can to ensure the development of Centre County’s drug court.