Attorney General’s START Program expands to Lorain and Erie counties

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services Director Mark Hurst announced Oct. 30 that funding from their offices will help the Ohio Sobriety, Treatment, and Reducing Trauma (START) Program expand to 17 new counties including Lorain and Erie, according to a news release.

The 17-county expansion, funded by a new $3 million federal Victims of Crime Act grant from the Attorney General’s Office and a federal State Opioid Response grant awarded by the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, adds to the original Ohio START Pilot program bringing the total number of counties served by the program to 34, the release said.

the Public Children Services Association of Ohio administers the program.

“The focused, individualized support families in the program receive can truly make a difference, and I am pleased that even more counties will start offering this program,” DeWine said in the release. “The dedication of the case workers, family peer mentors and others has supported parents struggling with addiction and helped keep families together. I look forward to following the success of more families as this model is implemented in more communities across the state.”

Hurst said addressing the epidemic’s impact on families is an important step.

“Investing in prevention and addressing the impacts of addiction on families, is an important step on our road to defeating the opioid epidemic in Ohio,” he said. “The program provides families struggling with addiction and mental illness an opportunity to remain in-tact, and to move forward in a way that is healthy and recovery-focused.

“The use of peers in this model is especially important, and is something that echoes the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services’ commitment to expanding access to peer services across the state.”

For more information and a video about the program visit the Ohio Attorney General’s YouTube Channel.