Montgomery County Child & Youth Organizations Awarded $494K In State Grant Funding

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PA — Three children and youth welfare organizations based in Montgomery County are receiving nearly a half-million dollars in state grant money to help support substance use treatment services and education programs, the offices of three legislators announced on Wednesday.

The state grant funding, which totaled $494,102, was awarded by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.

It will be going to the Lincoln Center for Family and Youth, the Child Advocacy Center of Montgomery County, and The Family Services of Montgomery County.

The Lincoln Center for Family and Youth will receive $144,266 to support its substance use treatment services geared toward county adolescents referred through school district and community-based provider partners.

The Child Advocacy Center of Montgomery County will get two separate grants — one for $99,936, which will be used to expand access to trauma therapy services for underserved victims of child abuse, and the second for $99,900, which will be used to develop and implement a new telehealth trauma therapy program for child sexual abuse victims.

The Family Services of Montgomery County is receiving $150,000 in grant dollars to help implement motivational interviewing for substance abuse in collaboration with the Montgomery County Correctional Facility, Adult Probation Department, and the Criminal Justice Advisory Board.

The three state lawmakers who announced the grant funding said the money would be meaningful in helping to improve the lives of many young people throughout the county.

"There are many people who are struggling here in Montgomery County — who desperately need assistance — and thanks to this funding to these amazing organizations, will get the help they deserve," State Rep. Joe Ciresi, D-146, said in a statement, adding that "no one is more vulnerable than a child."

State Rep. Liz Hanbidge, D-61, said that addressing the root cause of substance abuse and trauma through comprehensive and evidence-based therapy results in "more lives being restored and more success stories being written.

"These grant dollars will be earmarked toward ensuring those who need assistance are able to get the high-quality, timely help they deserve," Hanbidge said in a statement.

And Rep. Joe Webster, another central Montgomery County Democrat, said that, "direct investments in the mental, physical, and emotional health of our communities result in tremendous outcomes for those most in need."

"These grant dollars will be utilized to directly fund these critical services and will have positive ripple effects for all who call Montgomery County home," Webster said in a statement.

Montgomery County is the third most populous county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.