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State Senator Matt Huffman
Law Enforcement
Receive Funds to Combat Heroin Crisis
COLUMBUS - State Senator Matt Huffman (R-Lima) announced that statewide
grants were awarded this week for local law enforcement response teams
in Allen and Shelby counties, which focus on putting overdose survivors
on the path to recovery.
Mobilizing response teams consisting of law enforcement officers who
partner with local drug treatment providers and other groups is an
effective strategy being implemented in communities across Ohio.
Administered by the Ohio Attorney General's office, the new grant
program will provide local assistance for replicating and expanding
Drug Abuse Response Teams (DARTs) and Quick Response Teams (QRTs) in
the most severely impacted areas.
"These programs build on our efforts to empower local communities as
they tackle the heroin crisis and help those struggling with addiction
to find the treatment they so desperately need," said Huffman. "We are
grateful for the work being done by our law enforcement professionals
to address this problem, which exists in virtually every community
across this state."
Funding for these grants was added by the Ohio Senate as part of the
state's overall effort to tackle the opioid crisis by improving
prevention programs and strengthening law enforcement as well as
treatment and recovery services.
“We are committed to fighting the scourge of addiction, and I’m pleased
we were able to fund these grants as part of the new state budget,"
said Ohio Senate President Larry Obhof (R-Medina).
Ohio spends nearly $1 billion each year to fight drug abuse and
addiction. The state's main operating budget, signed into law in late
June, allocates an additional $180 million in targeted prevention,
recovery and enforcement efforts.
Further highlighting the state's priority to direct dollars to local
communities, the budget also invested in recovery centers and child
protective services to assist in caring for children who have been
abandoned by drug-addicted parents. It also provides additional funding
to coroners and criminal labs with overwhelmed capacities caused by the
epidemic.
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