Feb. 6—CONNEAUT — The Conneaut Municipal Court has been awarded a $29,847.19 grant for the operation of Renewal Court, according to a press release from Conneaut Municipal Judge Nicholas Iarocci.

Renewal Court is a substance abuse and mental illness specialized docket court, working with offenders who have mental health disorders and substance abuse disorders that contributed to a criminal offense, according to the release.

Renewal Court was awarded funds from the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services Edward Bryne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant.

The grant will help pay the wages for the Renewal Court Coordinator.

In an interview on Monday, Iarocci said the grant funds have allowed Reneawal Court to add several more participants.

“With the use of these funds, our coordinator can increase the number of hours she’s working in the program, which means we can increase the capacity,” he said. “Our hopeful capacity is around 25 participants. We’ve been limiting the number of participants in the programs to substantially less than that because we didn’t have the funds to pay the coordinator.”

About five new participants have been added to the court since the court was notified of the grant award about a month ago, bringing the number of participants up to about 15, Iarocci said.

Iarocci said the Renewal Court program, which was certified by the Ohio Supreme Court in June 2023, is going well, with a potential first commencement ceremony in a few months, contingent on participants completing the program.

“It’s going really well, lives are being changed,” Iarocci said. “We’ve had a few hiccups with a few participants, like any specialized docket would, but for the most part, it’s going great.”

Renewal Court also received a grant to pay for a probation officer.

“It’s fairly substantial, having two grants like this for a new program,” he said. “It speaks to the staff and the treatment team that we have. We’re really proud of where we’re at.”

Iarocci praised Miriam Walton and Patricia Wagner, with the Ashtabula County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board, for their help receiving both grants.