Grant secured for case worker at jail, hospital

Published 5:30 am Thursday, August 23, 2018

A much-anticipated grant to fund a professional case worker to engage inmates and patients with mental health issues has been awarded to WellStone of Cullman.

The $50,000 federal grant will allow the hiring of a licensed professional to evaluate and work with individuals who are typically repeat offenders because of mental health conditions in an effort to provide life-changing counseling and treatment, said Chris Van Dyke, director of WellStone in Cullman.

The grant will go into effect Oct. 1.

“The whole idea is to see people who are returning to the jail or hospital multiple times so that they can be flagged and determine what resources they need to change their lives,” Van Dyke said. “We can also communicate with local judges to determine if diversion from jail is possible.”

Van Dyke said a similar program in Huntsville saved the Madison County Sheriff’s Office about $200,000 by diverting cases from incarceration to treatment with positive results.

The Cullman County Sheriff’s Office and Cullman Regional as well as local judges have supported an intervention program that would yield more results for patients.

The case worker who assumes the local position will have access to the Cullman County Detention Center and Cullman Regional in cooperation with those institutions’ administrative offices.

Drug use and mental health issues will both be addressed by the case worker.

WellStone, Cullman Regional, law enforcement officials, judges and others have been working through a coalition devoted to solving mental health issues in the area because of suicides, drug abuse and other issues that have surfaced in recent years. The coalition is seeking funds to put into place a permanent program that will provide qualified treatment and out-patient services for indigents in the community.

WellStone and the mental health coalition have also met with the suppliers of Vivitrol, a drug known to suppress drug cravings, to secure a supply for using locally. Use of Vivitrol in Florida and other states has been praised as an effective means of combating addiction when used under its prescribed guidelines.

“We’re working on securing the go-ahead to use Vivitrol, but we want to do it right,” Van Dyke said. “We’re very excited about the possibility of this new drug and we think it will work well with this grant. We’re working on our protocols to make sure we have our right safeguards in place.”

David Palmer may be contacted at 256-734-2131, ext. 116.