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The Troup County Drug Court is applying for nearly $381,000 in grant funding from the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council to fund two of its drug treatment programs.

Felony Drug Court is applying for a $201,112 grant to fund its Felony Adult Drug Court operations. This amount would carry a match of $22,346 from the county. The court is also applying for a $179,733 grant to fund its Family Treatment Court program. This amount would carry a match of $24,509 cash match from the county.

The Troup County Drug Court received permission to apply for both grant applications from the Troup County Board of Commissioners Tuesday night.

According to county documents, the county’s budget will be affected depending on how much Troup County Drug Court is awarded from its grant request. 

FELONY ADULT DRUG COURT PROGRAM

The Felony Court started operations in 2011. If awarded, the grant funds will be used to accommodate the court’s program, which has the capacity to serve a maximum of 55 participants.

Hilliard Daniel, the Troup County Drug Court case manager, said the court is currently lacking about half of the max allowed participants. However, with the District Attorney’s and Public Defenders’ office, Troup County Drug Court is reviewing an increasing number of cases, Daniel said.

The benefit of the Felony Court comes to the community in the form of the savings that come from keeping those suffering from addiction out of the jail and giving them the treatment needed to reduce their chances of re-arrest.

“Throughout the state, that’s about $56 a day,” Daniel said.

In 2021, the Felony Drug Court program graduated 23 participants. So far this year, the program has two graduates.

The court collects participant fees which funds the case manager’s salary.

FAMILY TREATMENT COURT PROGRAM

The Family Treatment Court program started in July 2017 and is the newest of the four Accountability Courts in the County, according to county documents.

The mission of the program is to increase public safety by providing timely and effective substance abuse treatment in a criminal justice setting.

Not only does the court serve parents in the DFCS system but is also focused on providing support for the children of those parents. Currently, the program has eight active parents and 15 children.

In this year’s operating grant, Troup County Drug Court will be requesting the funds to operate at a maximum capacity of 20 parents.

The Family Treatment Court program best serves the community by offering treatment services, to reduce the number of out-of-home placement of DFCS cases, and to help re-unify those children that have been removed.