DA’s office wins $1.2 million grant to help kids at drug risk | Massachusetts News

BROCKTON, Mass. (AP) — The Plymouth District Attorney’s Office has received a federal grant of nearly $1.2 million to support its ongoing efforts to help children at risk from adult drug use .

Money from the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant and Substance Abuse Program Resource Center will be used over a three-year period.

“We have worked tirelessly to build local capacity to respond to children and families impacted by substance use disorders,” District Attorney Timothy Cruz said in a statement. “Identifying and providing support to children living in substance-abusing homes is an important step in disrupting cycles of trauma and helping children and families build resilience. Winning this grant will help us improve the county’s response. Plymouth to the trauma these children are witnessing.

Plymouth County has been particularly hard hit by the opioid epidemic. From 2010 to 2020, Plymouth County had the second-highest opioid-related overdose death rate of Massachusetts’ 14 counties, with 278 deaths per 100,000 population, the prosecutor’s office said.

Grant funds will be used to expand the existing efforts of the Children at Drug-Related At-Risk Initiative, including improving police identification and referral of drug-related children at risk, and increasing referrals and awareness.

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