Thirty-seven of Ohio’s 88 counties have received funding through a grant program aimed at providing mental health and addiction resources to inmates. In June, the Jefferson County Jail and Monroe County Correctional Facility each received $200,000, and in October, the Tuscarawas County Jail was awarded $208,909.
According to Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, the grant program provides two basic functions: mental health and addiction resources to work with inmates while incarcerated, and medical support during withdrawal. “When you’re going through withdrawal, you want to die. You would do anything to avoid that, and yet many county jails don’t have the resources to provide the medicine that will ease that suffering,” Yost explained.
The funding is intended to hire a full-time addiction-services coordinator or contract with a similar service provider. Monroe County Sheriff Derek Norman plans to use the funds to create a recovery program that identifies substance abuse when inmates are booked and provides services during incarceration and for 60 days after release. The grant program aims to distribute around $60 million from opioid settlements over the next several years, with hopes of reaching all 88 counties.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://wtov9.com/news/local/ohio-jails-receive-millions-for-addiction-recovery-programs-ohio-jails-addiction-recovery-mental-health-inmates-grant-program-opioid-settlements-substance-abuse