“These grants do more than prevent overdoses — they give inmates a fighting chance to break the cycle of substance abuse and incarceration,” Yost said. “Credit to Ohio’s sheriffs and local leaders for their hard work and innovation in putting this money to good use across the state.”
The Opioid Remediation Grant Program is awarding the county jails and CBCFs up to $200,000 per year to hire a full-time addiction services coordinator or contract with a company that provides those services to treat opioid and other addictions and help inmates through detox and recovery, the release stated.
Clark County Sheriff Chris Clark said they were happy to receive the grant as it will help them with a mental health therapist inside the jail, who is already in place. He said it will supplement her with needed medications and mental health therapies.
“We’re really appreciative of the Attorney General. He’s always been a big supporter of Clark County and the things that they provide for us help us out,” he said. “Just something as simple as this, it’s simple but it means a lot to be able to provide these types of services in our facility and expand the services.”
Mental health is a predominate thing in society and a root cause as to why people go to jail, Clark said.
“Mental health is a direct result of recidivism in this area. We do whatever we can to keep people out of jail and make them productive citizens, and paying attention to their mental health is a big part of that,” he said. “(The rate is) still up there (32.5%) and a lot higher than we need it to be. I want to see it down in the teens and that’s what we’re striving for but it takes a lot of attention and work to get there.”
Along with this therapist, the jail has a mental health doctor they contract and just hired an intern that is going through certification and will be a secondary full-time mental health therapist once it’s completed.
“We are ever expanding our mental health capabilities inside this facility because we recognize the extreme need for it in this area,” Clark said.
Other local recipients of this round of grants include $220,000 to Greene County Jail, $200,000 to Logan County Jail, $50,000 to the Community Correctional Center for Butler, Clermont and Warren Counties, and $151,375 to the MonDay Community Correctional Institution in Montgomery County.
Any county that operates a jail can also apply for a $50,000 grant to fund medications and supplies for inmates experiencing opioid withdrawal.
The total awarded since Yost announced the first round of grants in March is more than $10.9 million.
Applications for 2026 grants will be available in January.
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