By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
City and counties are allowed to apply liquor taxes in Kansas. Each year, Barton County receives monies from the Special Alcohol Fund and is in charge of distributing the funds to departments.
At Tuesday’s Barton County Commission meeting, the board approved the funding this year be transferred to Central Kansas Community Corrections. CKCC Director Brooke Haulmark said one of the challenges at Community Corrections right now is the lack of a male staff member and wanting to keep testing clients for alcohol or drug use.
"What we want to do with this money is purchase additional testing that will track their usage for a two-week period," said Haulmark. "This will give us a longer and better picture of how many individuals are continuing to use."
The Commission transfered $15,208.19 from the Special Alcohol Fund to Central Kansas Community Corrections. Per Kansas statute, Special Alcohol Funding can only be expended for the purchase, establishment, maintenance or expansion of services that fight alcoholism or drug abuse.
"Those high-risk individuals are about 25 percent of our entire case load," said Haulmark. "We'll use those funds to be able to purchase these additional testing methods."
The funds have to be used for drug abuse detoxification, intervention in alcohol and drug abuse, or treatment of persons who are alcoholics or drug abuser.