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Kittitas (pronounced 'KITT-i-tass') County is located in central Washington State. It spans from the lush forested Cascade Mountains to the upper Yakima River Valley plains and the Columbia River.
Kittitas County, WA - 11/29/2021 - A collaborative behavioral health court will be established in Kittitas County’s district courts in 2022 with the support of a $139,521 grant that was recently awarded by the State of Washington.
The Lower Kittitas County and Upper Kittitas County District Courts together will use the grant funds to identify individuals with substance use and mental health disorders and engage those individuals with community-based therapeutic interventions. The mission: to help participants get re-established in the community; reduce the cycle of addiction and crime; and improve participant skills and self-sufficiency. Kittitas County’s two district courts co-applied for the grant, and the creation of the therapeutic court will be the first time that both Kittitas County district courts will pool resources together to enhance the way they interact with people with substance abuse and mental health disorders. Both Upper Kittitas County court and Lower Kittitas County courts will manage the therapeutic court as well as track relevant statistics for state and federal audits as required. “Throughout the country, therapeutic courts are proving to be successful at improving support for participants who are living with substance use and mental health disorders, ultimately leading them out of the justice system and into lives of recovery and stability,” said Lower Kittitas County District Court Judge Paul Sander. “Judge Sander and I have long been proponents of the Drug Court program in the Superior Court,” added Upper Kittitas County District Court Judge Darrel Ellis. “It is exciting to now have our two Kittitas County district courts working together to bring a similar therapeutic approach to another court level in Kittitas County.” The grant funding will support treatment services; personnel salaries and benefits; staff equipment and training, and other services to ensure participant success such as housing and transportation services.
Kittitas County, from the Cascades to the Columbia, and online at http://www.co.kittitas.wa.us
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Contact: Carly Brettmann, Kittitas County Communications Director, (509) 962-7042, carly.brettmann@co.kittitas.wa.us
