U.S. Attorney Trent Shores Announces $3.7 Million in Justice Department Grants to Combat Addiction Crisis in Oklahoma

U.S. Attorney Trent Shores today announced awards of nearly $3.7 million in Department of Justice grants to fight drug abuse and addiction in Oklahoma. The grants were awarded by the Department’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP) and are part of more than $341 million going to communities nationwide.

“The addiction crisis has taken an enormous toll on America’s families and communities, eroding public health, threatening public safety and claiming tens of thousands of lives year after year,” said Attorney General William P. Barr. “Through comprehensive measures taken by this administration, we have been able to curtail the opioid epidemic, but new and powerful drugs are presenting exceptional challenges that we must be prepared to meet. The Justice Department’s substantial investments in enforcement, response, and treatment will help us overcome these challenges and work towards freeing Americans from abuse and addiction.”

Illegal drugs and illicit drug use have claimed the lives of nearly 400,000 Americans since the turn of the century. Powerful synthetic opioids like fentanyl are exacting an enormous toll on families and communities, and an emergence in the use of methamphetamines and other psychostimulants is drawing drug traffickers and driving up overdose rates. Three years ago, President Trump declared a Public Health Emergency and initiated a whole-of-government approach dedicated to ending this national tragedy. The Department of Justice has invested unprecedented levels of funding in combating the addiction crisis. The awards announced today build on those earlier investments.

“If we hope to defeat an enemy as powerful, persistent and adaptable as illicit drugs, we must be at least as determined and versatile, focusing our ingenuity and resources on curbing abuse and fighting addiction,” said OJP’s Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Katharine T. Sullivan. “These grants will enable criminal justice officials and substance abuse, mental health and other medical professionals to pool their assets and bring the full weight of our public safety and treatment systems down on this epidemic that has already caused so much harm.”

“Drug addiction fuels criminal behavior and often devastates families, particularly affecting children whose parents abuse illicit and prescription drugs,” said U.S. Attorney Trent Shores. “Intervention programs are crucial to those struggling, whether in the criminal justice system or in our communities. The nearly $3.7 million in Justice Department grants will help fund important drug intervention programs that are a lifeline to Oklahomans suffering from addiction.”

Funding is made available through OJP’s Bureau of Justice Assistance, National Institute of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime and Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

The following organizations in Oklahoma received funding:

Adult Drug Court and Veterans Treatment Court Grants

- Tulsa County District Court, Fourteenth Judicial District: $431,618

- Oklahoma Dept. of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services: $731,740

- Oklahoma Dept. of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services: $547,533

Mentoring Opportunities For Youth Initiative

-Rogers County Volunteers for Youth, Inc.: $598,792 (previously announced in a press release on Oct. 9, 2020)

Residential Substance Abuse Treatment for State Prisoners Program

-Oklahoma District Attorneys Council: $563,665

Research and Evaluation on Drugs and Crime

-Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences: $587,219

Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Site-based Program

-Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma: $200,000

For a complete list of individual grant programs, award amounts, and jurisdictions that will receive funding, click here. More information about OJP and its components can be found at www.ojp.gov.

The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice. Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years