York County officials are in Washington D.C., talking about local diversion programs which will be funded with federal dollars

YORK – In December, it was announced the York County Attorney’s office been named the recipient of a $1.3 million federal grant to pay for the creation and implementation of a new adult diversion program.

​The intent is to provide services to those battling drug and alcohol addiction, and in turn improve the crime rate in York County, while reducing the number of people being held in the county jail and helping to curb re-offense rates.
The county’s juvenile diversion program also received large grants from the federal level (nearly $700,000), which will help to enhance drug and alcohol services for juveniles while also helping to keep minors out of the court system.
Mental health and substance abuse treatment are the main focus of these efforts.
Federal funds have been and are being spent to formulate these programs, particularly creating the first-of-a-kind adult program which will be found in York County.
After it was recently announced federal grants were placed on hold for further review by the office of President Donald Trump, some questioned whether the federal grant dollars will still be available to York County for the new diversion programs/services. This week, Commissioner Andy Bowman (who sits on the local committee formulating the new programs) said not only was the program already given the go-ahead but members of the committee were also in Washington D.C., to present information about this made-from-scratch/innovative program.
“The group working on the diversion program, working for mental health and drug-related treatment and programming, are in Washington D.C. now and I will be joining them tonight,” Bowman said, during the county board’s regular meeting.
He said program director Tristan Perry (who had been the juvenile diversion director but was moved to director of the new programs after the grants were awarded), York Sheriff’s Captain Josh Gillespie, York County Attorney Gary Olson and Four Corners Health Department Director Laura McDougall were already in the nation’s capitol.
“Tomorrow (Wednesday) they will be presenting information about our county’s drug and alcohol related issues and our ideas for treatment, programming and diversion,” Bowman said. “It’s a pretty big thing.”
Commissioner Chairman Randy Obermier asked about the presidential freeze on all federal grants, inquiring as to how that would affect the $2 million total to be given to York County for the diversion programs.
“The freeze was lifted on the grant money being given to York County,” Bowman said. “This doesn’t appear to be a grant in jeopardy and I’ve been told it should be business as usual. The president’s office said this is not an area that would be affected.”
The $650,000 Youth Justice Mental Health Collaboration Grant is expected to strengthen the county’s juvenile diversion program, create more prevention opportunities for youth and allow quicker access to mental health support for youth.
The $425,000 Building Local Continuums of Care to Support Youth Success Grant is expected to help create a county asset map for youth and family services; increase community, youth and family collaboration; provide for further data collection to drive future projects; and help to implement a plan for youth services.
The $1.3 million Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant and Substance Use Site-Based Grant is expected to implement the creation of an adult diversion program; increase peer support programming within York County; and create faster access to mental health services for adults in need.