Fulton County Sheriff’s Office is the First Jail-based Agency to Receive a Competitive Grant Worth Over $1Million for
Groundbreaking Smart Reentry Program
(Atlanta – October 8, 2019) History is being made at the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office with the announcement that it will be the first jail-based agency to receive a huge grant award of $1,125,000 from SAMHSA [pronounced Sam-sa]. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration informed Sheriff Ted Jackson that the agency’s grant application was approved. SAMHSA is part of United States Department of Health and Human Services. Each year, SAMHSA only awards grants of this magnitude to a limited number of agencies. This is the first time the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office has applied for SAMHSA funds and it is noteworthy that the FCSO’s first proposal was a success.
The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office will receive $375,000 annually for the next three years, totaling $1,125,000. This award will provide critical funding for the nationally recognized Smart Reentry Program that Sheriff Ted Jackson established in 2016. The FCSO Smart Reentry Program utilizes the national model called Transition from Jail to Community (TJC) to coordinate strategic assistance to reduce recidivism in the Fulton County and improve public safety.
Sheriff Ted Jackson said he and his staff have made a commitment for the next three years to offer former inmates the support they need after leaving jail. These new grant dollars will perfectly complement the existing reentry program, “This new $1,125,000 grant award will allow the team to apply lessons learned from the highly successful Smart Reentry Program which began three years ago. We found that there is a greater need to focus on long-term, post-release care. Now, more resources can be used to treat substance abuse, depression, anxiety and the underlying conditions related to the individual’s mental health and likelihood to reoffend.”
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