JOHN COFFELT Contributor

The Coffee County Family Court has received a federal Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Grant that will provide the Family Court program with $333,000 annually for five years. 

Judge Greg Perry explained the details of the program during the Nov. 7 Coffee County Budget and Finance Committee meeting so that the acceptance of the money was added to the County Commission’s Nov. 12 meeting agenda.

Perry said the money will go towards hiring a family treatment coordinator and will provide treatment for Family Court participants at the Mental Health Cooperative.

“We would receive $103,000 that would go to our family treatment coordinator, supplies, drug testing and things like that,” Perry said. “Approximately $230,000 would go to the Mental Health Co-Op.”

The coordinator position would be a county employee, and that approximately $50,000 salary plus benefits would be reimbursed to the county through grant money. The coordinator would be hired for five years, and their salary would remain at the starting rate. In the event the grant is not awarded for the next cycle the position would be dissolved, but many of the Family Court services could remain in place. 

Program works to reunite families broken by substance abuse

Perry explained the program, to be fully funded with grant money, works to reunify families that the Department of Children Services (DCS) has removed children from.

“We’ve had very good success previously with some of our programs,” Perry said. “We’ve had a 60% graduation rate and a 75% recidivism rate – only 25% that have relapsed through that program.”

Participants spend on average a year to a year-and-a half in the program. They come to court twice per month and report their status. 

“Most of the time when people with addiction are told what they need to do to get their children back, it’s pretty overwhelming,” Perry said. “There’s a lot of services and a lot to get accomplished.”

The coordinator position would in a way hold the participant’s hand and guide them through those steps.

Perry said that as a rural county, mental health services are hard to get.

“We are fortunate to be able to co-op with them,” Perry said.