Treatment court awarded $2M federal grant

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) recently awarded the 37th District Court Adult Treatment Court $2 million dollars in grant funding.

Presiding Treatment Court Judge Matthew Sabaugh said he was first informed of the grant award by U.S. Rep. Sander Levin, D-Mich.

Sabaugh said the Michigan Democrat “has been a supporter of the treatment court since before it first started in 1999.

“Sandy Levin and retired Judge Dawnn Gruenburg started this program when it was among the first drug courts in the state,” Sabaugh said. “I am so proud to be a part of its continued success.”

Sabaugh explained how the money will be used to help participants who are recovering from drug and alcohol addictions.

“The treatment court began in 1999 and this is the largest grant we have ever received,” he said. “We are in great need of this funding since our community has been devastated by the opioid epidemic.

“It means we can help more people recover from the disease of alcohol and drug addiction. With this award, we can continue to save lives, reunite families and reduce the prison population.”

Since 1999, the 37th District Court Treatment Court has accepted over 1000 participants and has more than 600 graduates.

Currently, there are 84 active participants in the program, including both Drug Court and Sobriety Court.

“We also have a very low recidivism rate, which means that 94 percent of graduates are never arrested again” said Sabaugh. 

The federal money will be apportioned over five years and will be used to provide impatient and outpatient drug treatment, drug testing, detox programs, medication-assisted treatment, dental care, urgent medical services and personnel expenses, he said.

Treatment Court Coordinator Thomas Jekeliek was credited with writing the successful grant application.

“We have a top-notch treatment court team and Tom deserves credit for an outstanding job writing this grant” said Sabaugh.

––––––––––––––––––––
Subscribe to the Legal News!
http://www.legalnews.com/Home/Subscription
Full access to public notices, articles, columns, archives, statistics, calendar and more
Day Pass Only $4.95!
One-County $80/year
Three-County & Full Pass also available