Botetourt/Craig Drug Court program to be up and running this Fall

Noting that, “drugs are a significant issue,” Commonwealth’s Attorney John Alexander told the Board of Supervisors at its August 24, 2021 meeting that the Botetourt/Craig Drug Treatment Court Program should be up and running this fall.

The state approved an application filed earlier this year, but did not fund the program. Grant money, found through Blue Ridge Behavioral Healthcare, would fund the program for its first year, Alexander said.

The biggest expense would be two credentialed treatment personnel to oversee the five individuals the program should help, Alexander said. These people would be carefully screened.

The intensive treatment program is a “five phase program” designed to keep drug offenders out of the state jail system. An offender who goes through the program “should be working full time by the end,” Alexander said. “For those who successfully complete it, it’s very helpful.”

Treatment would be for non-violent offenders. The drug court program, which operates in 39 other localities and counties in the state, has saved the state more than $10 million, Alexander said.

Alexander did not ask the supervisors for money for the program, and noted that additional grant funding may be available for upcoming years and for additional personnel.

On a similar subject, the supervisors heard from the county attorney that Botetourt should receive around $60,000 in a bankruptcy suit that is part of a slew of lawsuits regarding the opioid epidemic. It is the second such payment the county has received. A small percentage of the money goes into the county’s general fund, while the remainder goes into substance abuse abatement, the county attorney said.

More funds from these pending lawsuits are expected, he added. Multiple communities have filed lawsuits to recover funds because of opioid use and its related problems and treatments. The county attorney cited county services such as the Department of Social Services and the Sheriff’s Office as just two county departments that have seen financial stress because of the opioid epidemic.

                                                                        — Anita Firebaugh, Special to The Botetourt Bee