$95k grant to target addiction, recidivism in Wyandot County

UPPER SANDUSKY — Wyandot County received $95,252 from the Ohio Attorney General's Office to help target inmate addiction and recidivism. Wyandot County Sheriff Todd Frey says the funding is a great boon for the county and will go towards providing a part-time counselor and case manager for any inmates with known addiction problems seeking mental health services. Frey said in the grant application: "Our officers are not trained, nor do they have the time to properly provide support services, education and linkage to appropriate addiction and recovery services to the inmates in our facility." While the Wyandot County jail can hold up to 18 inmates, Frey estimates approximately 60 - 70% of those inmates come in with some type of addiction issue. Mircea Handru of the Mental Health and Recovery Services Board says the funding aims to reduce recidivism in the Ohio jail system. Recidivism is when an incarcerated person is more likely to return to jail after having already been incarcerated at least once before. The grant hopes to, as Handru puts it, positively impact recidivism rates by providing mental health services and rehabilitation to inmates addicted to substances not only while they are incarcerated, but also after they are released. According to the Pew Charitable Trusts, as of 2019, "only 1 in 13 people who were arrested and had a drug dependency received treatment while in jail or prison." Another study from Stanford University found that "those with mental health histories tend to have higher recidivism rates, serve longer sentences and have more expensive medical needs than those without mental illness." While Handru and Frey cannot force anyone to participate in the treatment or follow-up post-release, "we hope the majority of them would," Handru said. "We hope with the collaboration between Connections Recovery Services, (the Wyandot County Sheriff's Office and the Mental Health and Recovery Services) will help a lot of individuals post incarceration and reduce recidivism for Wyandot County." Seneca County Sheriff's Office also completed the application for the grant, but the decision on funding is not yet known.