DARTMOUTH — Sheriff Paul Heroux said a memo from the Trump Administration pausing all federal grants and loans affects nearly $2 million out of his $60 million jail budget.
He said the federal assistance is used to help reduce recidivism, decrease drug abuse and enhance re-entry services. It also affects 18 employees at the Bristol County House of Correction.
He stated in a press release, “I (and likely many other sheriffs and recipients of federal grant programs throughout the country) hope that the Trump Administration quickly reconsiders this pause. Public safety and prisoner re-entry depend on assistance from the state and federal governments.”
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Affects various in-house programs and services
President Donald Trump’s pause in distributing federal funds affects in-house programs for substance abuse treatment, education, vocational training, parenting programs and reentry programs, Heroux said.
It affects almost all the contracted vendors providing mental health services, medication-assisted therapies, domestic violence programs, anger management programs, and counseling for inmates, he said.
Sheriff Heroux’s office has worked to stop prisoner suicide. Their efforts are paying off.
USA Today.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the goal of the memo was to block funding for programs the president opposes such as Diversity, Equality and Inclusion in hiring and the Green New Deal for climate policy, according to USA Today.
She said officials found $37 million about to be sent to the World Health Organization, which Trump ordered the United States to withdraw from, and $50 million for condoms in Gaza, which Leavitt called “a preposterous waste of government money,” according to USA Today.
