February 2016 CJAB Meeting Summary

After greeting the members of CJAB, Commissioner Keller introduced Shalom Black, the Director of Grants and CJAB, who gave a presentation on the background and work of the Franklin County Reentry Coalition. With the planning stage ending, the Coalition is now discussing a structure for moving forward. The final draft of the Reentry Strategic Plan was reviewed with CJAB members.

The Administrator of Franklin/Fulton Drug & Alcohol, April Brown, presented “Jail Medication Assisted Treatment Programs” to CJAB members, explaining the various subsets for the prescription of different treatment medications. She described how the medications work within the body, highlighting treatment benefits such as reduction in cravings and clear headedness.

The County is applying for Residential Substance Abuse Treatment funding for $60K to allow for substance-dependent inmates to receive medication for the treatment of substance use, beginning prior to release. The program also assists in connecting eligible inmates to recovery support specialists and medical providers after release. It will be similar to the proposed, but now inactive, Jail Opioid Treatment program, though it will offer alcohol in addition to opioid substance use treatment.

The Commissioners passed a resolution in January to be part of the Stepping Up Initiative. Of 196 teams that applied, Franklin County is one of 50 chosen to be part of the National Forum in Washington, D.C. in April.

Find minutes for the February 2016 meeting here.

The next meeting of the Franklin County Criminal Justice Advisory Board will be held on April 28, 2016 at 12 PM in the 3rd Floor Jury Assembly Room at the Franklin County Courthouse.

Return to list.