Community Corrections: No decision on directorship; dept. receives $263,000 grant

Special from WITZ AM/FM

Still no word on a new director for the Dubois County Community Corrections Department.

At the end of the Tuesday night meeting of the Dubois County Community Corrections Advisory Board, Assistant and Interim Director Jenny Fuhs asked board president Judge Mark McConnell about the progress on getting the new director on board.

The Advisory Board voted on June 9th to hire William Wells as the new director. He was chosen after the board reviewed several applications over several months.

Wells accepted the position but then learned he would be making about $5,000 less than the pay he was receiving as the director of the drug court program.

McConnell requested the Dubois County Council approve an increase in pay by $5,000 annually for Wells, but he was turned down by a 4 to 3 vote.

Afterwards, Wells stated that unless the position included a pay increase so that he wouldn’t have to take a pay cut moving from Drug Court Director to the Corrections Department Director, he would turn down the position.

Since then, no public action has been taken on the director’s position. McConnell was not willing to give out information in the public portion of the Tuesday night meeting as to the status of the position, stating that “nothing’s changed as far as we know.”

When asked if the board is waiting on an answer from the county council, McConnell answered, “possibly.”

“I’d rather not say in a public meeting,” McConnell said.

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Meanwhile, Fuhs announced during the meeting that the Corrections program has been awarded a grant for $263,944.29 for a Temp Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program.

“I found out at the end of April that there was an opportunity for funding through TANF,” she explained, “and these are state-funded dollars. They come down through the division of family resources.

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) is a program that provides cash assistance and supportive services to assist families with children under age 18, helping them achieve economic self-sufficiency.

She said that they applied for a grant in the amount of just under $240,000.00 and their application was submitted at the last minute and they were surprised when they got the announcement.

She said that the grant money is directed towards families, marriage, pregnancy and other related categories of need assistance.

She said that the grant is only for one year but that they are going to add temporary staff to fill the positions needed to carry out the grants requirements.

Fuhs says that the awarding of the grant represents a huge advance for the Corrections Department that has been languishing with financial challenges for the last few years.

She said it’s much needed and will provide a relief for those needing the services.

The details of the program are still being investigated by Fuhs and the Corrections Department staff.