Officials: Federal grant paying off

May 27, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

By Elise Franco

Youngstown

A federal grant that funds alcohol and drug treatment in Mahoning County is paying off, officials said.

Mahoning is one of four Ohio counties sharing a $13.9 million Access to Recovery grant.

Angela Cornelius Dawson, director of the Ohio Department of Alcohol & Drug Addiction Services, said the program is designed to provide treatment services for people coming out of incarceration and for war veterans who have drug or alcohol addiction.

“This helps ensure they have the level of service they need to sustain them in the community,” Dawson said. “We provide the kind of support that allows them to come home to stay.”

The grant was awarded to Summit, Cuyahoga and Stark counties in 2007. Mahoning County was added in 2008, Dawson said.

Since then about $10 million has been spent on care for about 5,800 clients — 436 of whom are from Mahoning County. Dawson said the goal is to serve 6,300 people total before the grant money runs out Sept. 29.

Doris Primm, ODADAS executive director, said it was important that Mahoning County be included in that round of grants.

“In the Youngstown area they don’t have the funding to give preventive care prior to crimes committed,” she said. “We’re not only trying to reduce criminal activity here, but also give those coming out the opportunity not to reoffend and have to go back.”

Dawson said the counties were selected based upon need for services.

“They were selected on the criminal justice population for cities with a high number of returnees from the Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections,” she said.

Dawson said the most recent effort to keep this grant funding flowing was applying in March for another ATR grant. She said the grant would bring in $16 million over four years and will also include Lorain County.

“This grant will sustain the services we’ve started and make sure an adequate sustainability plan is in place,” she said.

Dawson said the state will be notified about the grant in September, and if awarded, she said the program will expand to include adolescent treatment and recovery and family counseling.