While problem-solving courts in Columbus have proven effective, funding levels for these programs from the state are dropping.

The pre-trial programs in Bartholomew County will be losing about a third of their funding next year, according to Court Services director Brad Barnes.

The Veterans Treatment, Drug Recovery and Mental Health Treatment courts will lose about 10% of their funding in 2025.

“The explanation we received is that a lot more counties are doing problem-solving courts,” Barnes told the Bartholomew County Council. “There’s not as much money to go around.”

Less funding in pre-trial programs has been going on at a smaller scale for the last three or four years, Barnes said. Lower levels of funding have already impacted who the county can afford to fill a probation officer’s position, he added.

Instead of ‘one-size fits all’ sentences, a problem-solving court works as a team to address underlying problems of each defendant. Pre-trial programs allow first-time and non-violent offenders an opportunity to have their charges dismissed or reduced if they successfully complete a set of conditions.

Council member Matt Miller is one of a number of county officials who have expressed concern that state grants for problem-solving courts may eventually dry up – even though the Indiana Office of Court Services has been advocating their creation in all 92 Indiana counties.

“Seems like this may be a repetitive cycle by the state,” Miller during his last meeting as a county council member. “They encourage you to do something, and slowly start pulling funds away. They‘re notorious.”

But all problem-solving courts in Bartholomew County will be fully funded next year after the state gave their permission for judges in Columbus to use unspent grant money from this year in 2025, including half the money earmarked for the Mental Health Treatment Court, Barnes said.

In addition, Barnes says a number of staff members don’t take on the additional responsibilities of problem-solving court for a larger paycheck.

“It’s just part of our regular pay,” Barnes said. “I’d like to say we do more for less.”

The Court Services director did suggest that local judges make time to talk with the Indiana Office of Court Services, as well as other state departments involved in these grants, to express their concerns.
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