Grant sought for Substance Abuse Disorder victims

Treatment and support instead of incarceration is the goal of a $2 million grant the county is seeking from the US Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration for sufferers of Substance Abuse Disorder (SUD).

The grant would be used to expand the Miami-Dade County Dependency Drug Court response to family treatment needs.

“The project’s goal,” explains a report to county commissioners from Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, is to expand “treatment and recovery support services for participants in existing drug courts.” The motion passed 11-0 this month.

The project “supports a continuum of care, including prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery services, for individuals with SUDs involved with the courts,” the mayor’s report said.

The county would become the fiscal agent for the 11th Judicial Circuit of Florida. The item authorizes Mayor Levine Cava to administer the program through Sept. 30, 2028.

It further authorizes the mayor to apply for additional future funds that “may become available” for up to 10 years.

The resolution’s $2 million grant request imposes no fiscal impact on the county, including no matching funds.

Alan Tiano with the Office of Management and Budget-Grants Coordination Division and the court is to coordinate the project. Mr. Tiano will serve as liaison with the county’s finance department to “manage program and fiscal reporting … and auditing procedures,” the mayor wrote.

“In March of 1999,” her report said, “the Miami-Dade County Dependency Drug Court was established in response to the overwhelming number of substantiated child abuse and neglect cases in the county involving substance abuse by a parent or guardian.”

The creation of the drug court also responded to “the 1997 requirements of the Adoption and Safe Families Act, which was enacted to decrease the amount of time children spent in non-permanent placement settings,” the report said.

Children, the mayor’s report said, “need permanent placement to establish trusting relationships….

“This problem-solving court is designed to address the treatment needs of parents and to increase the chances of reunification with their children, while ensuring children obtain evidence-based services.

The long-term objective “is to improve the current infrastructure by providing … evidence-based family intervention and a trauma-informed community of care, thereby increasing the resources available” to Drug Dependency Court participants and their children, the report said.

“A significant volume of research,” the mayor’s report says, “indicates that individuals who abuse drugs or alcohol have a history of exposure to trauma. For parents engaged in the dependency system, the problem is compounded as the permanency, safety and wellbeing of children are brought to the forefront.”

The court is to use the five-year grant to “expand and enhance the capacity of the local child welfare continuum of care by referring parents in [the court] to family therapy and … safety treatment, utilizing therapists trained in early childhood development and cognitive behavioral therapy.”