LEONARDTOWN, Md. (November 15, 2010)—The St. Mary's County Circuit Court has received two federal grants for the Juvenile Drug Court Program from the Department of Justice.
The grants are titled "Justice and Mental Health Collaboration" and "Mentoring and Support Services Initiative." The total award amount for both grants is $547,980. The funding will allow for targeted services for juveniles in the areas of mental health and mentoring and social development.
Both initiatives will be collaborative efforts among Walden-Sierra, St. Mary's County Public Schools, Dept. of Social Services, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, the Sheriff's Dept. and Charles Co. Juvenile Drug Court.
"In this era of economic downturn, I am extremely pleased that St. Mary's
County was able to obtain this grant-there were many applicants from across the
nation," said Pete Cucinotta, Program Coordinator. "Our selection by the Department of Justice is extremely rewarding and is a reflection of the program's success and cooperative nature of our local agencies. These grants will allow us to move our successful Juvenile Drug Court to the next level."
The Juvenile Drug Court has been in existence since 2004. It serves juveniles with offenses in the court system who have substance abuse problems.