Benton County Board of Commissioners voted to approve submission of a Bureau of Justice Administration planning and implementation grant application seeking $950,000 to restart the county’s Adult Drug Treatment Court (ADTC).

The grant approval motion was made by Commissioner Shepherd and seconded; the motion passed by voice vote. Rick Krager, county staff, said the application would request $950,000 over three years as part of a total project budget of $1,266,006.77 that includes a 25% local match.

Judge Demarest, who is taking over oversight of the ADTC, said the program has been inactive for nearly two years and that restarting it is a priority. “We’re very hopeful that the BJA grant will become available again and that we, hopefully, this time around, will be able to qualify,” Judge Demarest said, adding that the policy committee had used prior BJA feedback to strengthen the new application.

Judge Donahue and Judge Demarest described the operational gaps that led to the program’s earlier suspension, including insufficient treatment resources and difficulties maintaining treatment-court fidelity (for example, segregating participants by risk level and gender). Judge Donahue said the program was halted in 2023 after the policy committee concluded the program “was doing more harm than good” because it could not meet critical best-practice standards.

County staff and judges told the board they have identified a potential outside treatment provider with experience in treatment-court models and that the state is recruiting a program coordinator whose salary would serve most of the 25% match requirement. Krager said the county would provide grant management and that those administrative costs would be paid from allowable indirect costs in the grant budget.

Commissioners asked about past denials and the grant’s competitiveness. Krager and the judges said the BJA planning/implementation awards are nationally competitive (five awards in the last cycle) and that the county received feedback on the prior application that they used to revise and strengthen the proposal. Krager said the BJA request for applications had been temporarily pulled by the federal grantor but that staff had been advised the solicitation may return with similar requirements; the board authorized moving forward now so the county can meet any imminent deadline if the solicitation reopens.

Sheriff (name not specified) spoke in support of restarting drug court, recounting prior experience with drug court programs and offering the office’s cooperation. Commissioners also discussed local housing as a critical component for participant success; Judge Demarest said access to even a few housing units can determine the difference between program success and failure.

Votes at a glance: The board approved the submission of a $950,000 BJA planning and implementation grant application for the ADTC by voice vote; the motion was moved by Commissioner Shepherd and seconded. The board recorded the motion as passed.

Next steps noted by staff and judges include finalizing the application to match any revised federal requirements, confirming the match funding source (state program coordinator), selecting or contracting a treatment provider if the grant is awarded, and returning to the board if substantial grant changes occur or before final commitment of county funds.