The County Press

Drug, mental health courts receive state grants for 2019




LAPEER — Lapeer County’s pair of specialized courts will have the funding for another year thanks to grants from the State Court Administrative Office (SCAO).

The two “problemsolving” courts, Drug Court and Mental Health Court, received grants of $43,000 and $93,000, respectively. During the Lapeer County Board of Commissioner’s meeting on Thursday, officals approved the acceptance of the two grants.

The Drug Court has been operational for a little over a year and was established through grants of $20,000 each from the Lapeer County Community Foundation and the Four County Community Foundation. The goal of the court is to increase public safety, rehabilitate nonviolent drug and/or alcoholaddicted offenders, educate the community while erasing the stigma surrounding addiction and proficiently utilize public funds.

Lapeer County’s 71-A District court will get $7,000 less for its mental health court operations in 2019 than it did this year. To get enrolled in mental health court, a participant must be a Lapeer County resident diagnosed with a mental health condition and have pleaded guilty to a non-violent criminal charge. Lapeer County has had a mental health court program for five years.

“We believe both courts are a benefit to the citizens of Lapeer County,” said Greg Wise, Lapeer County’s Court Administrator. Wise said the $7,000 reduction in state grant funding for the Mental Health Court is a result of not spending every penny over the course of this year. “In this county, we do our best not to spend the money if we don’t have to,” he said. “But that’s one of the problems, if you don’t spend it, the state will reduce it.”