Carroll County sheriff’s office seeks grant to expand peer support, case management

Andrew Pearson Peterson, an emergency management specialist with the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office, asked commissioners to place a three‑year grant application on the May 5 consent agenda that would expand peer support and what the presenters called a "second chance" initiative.

Peterson said the program is a substance‑use and stimulant‑focused, site‑based initiative intended to create three contract positions (two additional peer‑support specialists and a jail‑based case manager), provide 24‑hour peer support coverage aligned with deputies, and add GPS monitoring for supervised individuals who are indigent so they can be released from jail under supervision. "This is a comprehensive opioid stimulant substance abuse site based program that we'll be applying for a 3 year grant," Peterson said. He said the grant would cover testing needed by rehabilitation providers when the county refers indigent participants.

Peterson said the total grant funds available under the program were $1,300,000; in the transcript he also stated another larger figure for the application amount that was not clarified in the meeting. The presenters said the positions would be contract roles with no local match required and that, if the county receives the funds, the program would be administered over three years.

A commissioner asked whether the contract positions would carry any employment guarantee after the grant ends; Peterson said there was no requirement to continue the positions after the grant term. Commissioners expressed general support and agreed to place the application on the May 5 consent agenda.