Cass County problem-solving/treatment courts get over $500k in state grants

CASS COUNTY, Mich. -- On Friday, Cass County announced that four different problem-solving and/or treatment court programs in the county will receive a total of $536,855 in state grants.

Chief Judge Carol Montavon Bealor was the barer of good news when she announced the grant rewards from the State Court Administrative Office (SCOA) for the 2025 fiscal year (Oct. 1, 2024, through Sept. 30, 2025).

“Cass County Courts have been a leader in the Problem-Solving/Treatment Court movement with the establishment of Michigan’s first family treatment court by retired Judge Susan L. Dobrich over 20 years ago," Bealor said. "Funding from the SCAO has allowed our courts to continue to effectively address substance use and mental health disorders giving graduates the opportunity to better their lives and the lives of their children and families with wrap around support and accountability resulting in safer communities.”

2025 awards funds:

• $116,000 for the Adult Treatment/Sobriety Court (Hon. Stacey A. Rentfrow)
• $155,855 for the Cass County Mental Health Court (Hon. Mark A. Herman)
• $185,000 for the Swift and Sure Sanctions Probation Program (Hon. Mark A. Herman)
• $80,000 for the Family Treatment Court (Hon. Carol Montavon Bealor)

This year's grant awards are an increase of $60,355 from fiscal year 2024.

“When people ask me how trial courts engage with their communities and provide access to valuable resources, I initially point to problem-solving courts because these programs represent the best of what we do in the judiciary: save lives,” said Michigan Supreme Court Justice Kyra Bolden, who serves as the Michigan Supreme Court’s liaison to problem-solving courts.

“And we couldn’t do that without this critical state and federal grant funding that gives participants and their families a second chance.”

The SCAO awarded more than $19 million in grants to problem-solving court programs statewide for fiscal year 2025.

Problem-solving court programs are aimed at addressing the root cause of crime and child neglect/maltreatment.

"Using evidence-based practices, PSC programs have provided the most successful interventions in our nation’s history to date for leading people living with substance use and mental health disorders out of the justice system and into lives of recovery and stability," said Circuit/Probate/Family Court Administrator Sarah Mathews.