News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Overton County approved a $15,750 bid for a Drug Recovery Court Program Evaluator.
Recovery Court Director Andrea Ayers said the program’s federal grant of two years requires this position.
“We are funded federally by a SAMSA [Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration] grant.The program evaluator is a position that will assist our program with defining and project goals or objectives that we may have,” Ayer said.
The program evaluator also analyzes the court’s impact on the community and participants, evaluates services given to participants, and develops sustainability plans for the courts. Ayers said the position will provide valuable insight on how successful the Overton County Drug Recovery Court Program is.
Ayers said the drug recovery court is an alternative sentencing for people suffering from substance abuse.
“We have a process whereby defendants can apply for our recovery court, then they are entered in our program. We have daily contact with our clients, we drug test them three to four days per week, and we offer them support classes. There’s a lot of substantial monitoring that goes on,” Ayers said.
The Overton County Recovery Court has been helping others since 2016. Ayers said 19 participants have graduated from the program since then.
