October 27, 2020

The Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs awarded the Kane County Drug Rehabilitation Court a three year $500,000 grant to help fight the addiction crisis and to enhance their existing Adult Drug Court program. Through the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), Kane County received one of 123 grants awarded nationwide to establish, assist and research the effectiveness of Adult Drug Courts.

Presiding Judge Marmarie Kostelny and Drug Court Coordinator Alicia Klimpke applied for the grant in order to provide full residential treatment for 20 new participants each year and to assist participants with supportive living after the conclusion of inpatient treatment. The grant will also allow for payment for medically assisted treatment (MAT) when insurance is not available.
 
“On behalf of our community, I am so grateful to receive this award. Our Coordinator, Alicia Klimpke, did an outstanding job presenting our local need in the grant application,” Kostelny said. “This is our third three-year federal grant since 2014 and the funds have allowed us to truly help the participants in our program as well as their families and our citizens.”

Drug Courts have been proven to reduce recidivism and substance abuse among high-risk, high-need participants and increases their likelihood of successful rehabilitation. Drug Courts integrate evidence-based substance abuse treatment, mandatory drug testing, sanctions and incentives, and transitional services in judicially supervised court settings.

In 2014, the Kane County Drug Rehabilitation Court received a 1.2 million dollar grant.  In 2017, a $400,000.00 grant was awarded. Like the current grant, prior grants were primarily for residential treatment and medically assisted treatment. According to Coordinator Klimpke, “In 2019, 86% of new participants were assessed and placed in residential treatment and 53% of those eligible for medically assisted treatment were receiving some form of MAT.”