Schuylkill County is developing a Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion Program to help to battle drug issues.

Officials from the state Attorney General’s office attended a Schuylkill County Opioid Task Force meeting Friday to tell that group about the plan.

Carbon County launched a PA LEAD program in March. The first program launched in Somerset County. The foundation of the program is initiating drug treatment referrals through routine encounters, with law enforcement personnel providing information.

“We cannot arrest our way out of this crisis,” said Steve Forzato, deputy chief for statewide drug initiatives for the office of the Attorney General.

Forzato worked as a detective and did undercover work in the narcotics field in Montgomery County for more than 30 years.

“We need to address addiction along with being the strong arm of the law.”

Under the LEAD program, the office of the Attorney General partners with district attorneys and local police departments to help open doors for people seeking addiction treatment.

The office helps set up training for law enforcement personnel and also provides sample documents and policies, as well as establishing connections and partnerships with local treatment facilities.

Attorney General Josh Shapiro has called the number of overdoses an “epidemic that is our greatest public safety challenge and my top priority as the chief law enforcement officer in Pennsylvania.”

“By participating in this initiative (PALEAD), you will not only help save lives, but demonstrate clearly to your communities that law enforcement can be a force for good in more ways than one,” Shapiro said.

Janene M. Holter, who coordinates drug initiatives for the bureau of narcotics investigation and drug control for the attorney general, said that LEAD is a relatively new initiative launched in 2019. She stressed the importance of steering people through contact with the single county authority.

In Schuylkill County, the SCA is Schuylkill County Drug & Alcohol, 570-621-2890; or after 4:30 p.m., 877-993-4357. The SCA can make referrals to it partners, with the advantage of having federal and state funding for treatment.

“When I was in law enforcement, we never had that conversation, we didn’t say, hey, I can help you get into treatment,” Holter said. “And as law enforcement, we’re the first responders.”

Schuylkill County District Attorney Mike O’Pake, who attended the Opioid Task Force meeting, said that his office is on board.

“I’ve had discussion with Janene, but it’s still very early,” O’Pake said. “We are working on what a LEAD program in Schuylkill County will look like.”

For more information about SCAs, contact PALEAD@attorneygeneral.gov or call 570-826-2483. The next meeting of the Schuylkill County Opioid Task Force will be 9 a.m. Sept. 27, at the McCloskey School of Nursing, 420 Jackson St., Pottsville.