Lake County Gazette

The Lake County Sheriff's Office has been awarded a federal grant of $74,064. The funding is intended to offset costs associated with the incarceration of undocumented aliens who have been convicted of crimes.

The Lake County Board sanctioned the acceptance of this grant, known as the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP), from the U.S. Department of Justice, according to information disclosed in the Lake County Board's March 12 meeting agenda. The application for this grant was submitted by the Sheriff's Office in April 2023.

According to the same agenda, the SCAAP grant covers expenses incurred by local government units due to the detention of undocumented aliens who have been convicted of at least one felony or two misdemeanors and were incarcerated for a minimum period of four days between July 1, 2021, and June 30, 2021. The Sheriff's Office received notification about their successful grant application in November 2023.

As per the stipulations outlined in the March 12 meeting agenda, the Sheriff's Office was required to inform the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs about how they planned to allocate these funds. Potential uses for these funds include construction costs, training and education initiatives, correction officer training programs, consultancy fees, medical services, mental health services, vehicle procurement, pre-release/re-entry programs, technology upgrades, workforce recruitment and retention efforts within jail workforce and disaster preparedness measures.

According to further details from the March 12 meeting agenda, it was revealed that the Sheriff’s Office intends to use these funds primarily for medical and mental health services for inmates housed in Lake County Jail.