MONROE — With the addition of a grant through the federal government, Green County Drug Court will now be able to expand its services.

Green County Alcohol and Drug Supervisor Robert Gibson and Drug Court Judge James Beer recently announced that the program will receive an annual grant of $400,000 over five years from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 

This resulted in $2 million of additional funds for the program, which Beer noted as vital to its continuance.

“Without funding, you can’t operate the program,” Beer said. 

The award, part of the Grants to Expand Substance Abuse Treatment Capacity in Adult Treatment Drug Courts and Adult Tribal Healing to Wellness Courts, will expand the current capacity Green County can serve. It will even branch out to offer help to residents of Lafayette County, which was not able to establish its own program in 2017. Lafayette did not receive the initial annual grant of nearly $123,000 meant to be distributed over five years from the Wisconsin Department of Justice.

Now, at least some residents near the Green County border can receive help they might need, Beer said.

The grant funding will not only offer services to a greater number of participants, but will also cover the cost of transportation to meetings and treatment for those the program serves. Beer said the main purpose of the program is to help those with serious substance abuse problems avoid incarceration that would not benefit them or their families.

“A lot of the folks we have would be going to prison if it weren’t for drug court,” Beer said.

He noted that the program helps individuals as they attempt to reintegrate into their community and maintain family structure.

“We never expected it to be perfect,” Beer said, but he added, “initial response, I would say it has been successful.”