County to pass through $15,100 grant to Garrett County to support regional drug court; case manager position approved

County staff presented a memorandum of understanding to make Garrett County part of a regional adult drug treatment court and to allocate $15,100 to the Garrett County state's attorney's office for participation in the FY27 program.

Melissa Buskirk said the Maryland judiciary provided the grant and that Garrett County does not currently operate a drug treatment court; the MOU creates a regional model with Garrett County as a participant. 'Pete,' the regional drug court coordinator, described a 75–80% success rate in Allegheny County and said the program connects participants to jobs, housing and training. Buskirk and staff emphasized there is no county general-fund cost; the program and the proposed full-time case manager are 100% grant-funded. The commission approved both the MOU and the case manager position by voice vote.

Staff said the case manager will coordinate treatment and services on site in Garrett County but will be an Allegheny County employee per the grant structure.