SIDNEY — Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine recently announced he is awarding more than $2.7 million in grant funds to a number of law enforcement agencies across the state for drug use prevention education programs in public schools, including the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office.
The office received $114,856.80, the largest award made by the attorney general’s office. Shelby County Sheriff John Lenhart said the department was pleased to receive the funding.
“We are very pleased to get this grant for DARE education,” he said. “School resource officers are very important in this day and age with gun violence across the nation. This is our fifth year of having some kind of security in all our county schools.”
The sheriff’s office provides school resource officers to Anna, Houston and Sidney High School, and teaches DARE in all county schools, including Holy Angels and Sidney Christian Academy, but excluding Sidney City Schools.
A total of 130 sheriff’s offices and police departments will receive a portion of the $2,742,649 in Drug Use Prevention Grant funds. The funds must be used to establish or maintain drug abuse-prevention education and awareness programs for students during the 2017-2018 school year.
Grant recipients are required to include over-the-counter and prescription drug abuse-prevention education in their programs.
“The abuse of prescription drugs is one of the primary reasons behind the current opiate epidemic in Ohio, which is why it’s important that students receive age-appropriate lessons about the dangers of these and other drugs at an early age,” said Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine in a release.
A full list of the award recipients can be found on the Ohio Attorney General’s website.
DARE programs and school resource officer drug use-prevention programs were eligible to apply for the grants, and all programs must be conducted in cooperation with the public school superintendent of each school district where the programming will take place.
The Drug Use Prevention Grant Fund supports programs such as Botvin LifeSkills, DARE-Keepin’ It Real, PALS-Prevention through Alternative Learning Styles, I’m Special, Too Good For Drugs, Reach Out Now and Stay on Track.
