Fayette County accepts grant funds for drug court

A special court program that provides alternative sentencing for drug offenders has received a $13,856 supplemental grant, which was formally accepted by the Fayette County Board of Commissioners at its regular meeting on Thursday.

The grant came from the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council and is earmarked for the rest of this fiscal year to provide services for the Griffin Judicial Circuit Adult Felony Drug Court. Called an accountability court, it supervises defendants with nonviolent felony charges during in an intense 24-month recovery program. Participants must be approved by the district attorney’s office and the drug court team.

The grant funds were released after Gov. Brian Kemp signed a state bill in March that restored funding for accountability courts through June 30. Superior Court Judge Fletcher Sams said in a memo to the CJCC that drug treatment and testing for those in the program has been increased “during this stressful time” of the COVID-19 outbreak.