LIMA — The court and probation department in Allen County that manages non-violent people convicted of low-level felonies will again receive two significant grants to manage programs that keep people out of prison.
Allen County Common Pleas Court and the probation department have been awarded $733,531 to develop and implement programs that manage the offenders, many of whom commit crimes to feed a drug addiction.
Besides the grant for the probation department, the money from the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction pays for the drug court and reentry court programs at the common pleas court. Those programs offer intense supervision before a judge and other administrators to get people the help they need and work with them to make sure they stay on the right path. The program also uses money from the grants to pay for medical treatment for people who need it.
The idea behind the funding is to manage the low-level felons in their community in hopes of helping them turn their life around rather then send them to prison.
State prison system Director Gary Mohr is a big supporter of the programs. He said the programs are more effective and cost less than treatment in the prison system.
Auglaize County received $400,000 for a similar initiative.
