Carbon County is looking to start a program that would focus on getting low-risk offenders out of the prison ahead of their court dates and to get them the help they need.

Last week, the board of commissioners ratified a grant application in the amount of $250,000 to the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency for a Justice Assistance Grant.

The funds, if the county is successful in securing the grant, would be used to hire two pretrial officers and a part-time sentencing guideline technician, who would help in the process of decision making during bail and sentencing decisions.

Commissioners’ Chairman Wayne Nothstein said Carbon County has a large caseload with regards to drug and alcohol offenses and these funds would help “divert people from the prison system in educating not only our police departments, but other emergency responders, that putting a person in the prison … they’re not getting any better waiting for their pretrials or other court proceedings.

“We’re trying to identify these people who need the help now and get them into the right system. They don’t all belong in the prison,” he added. “A lot of them are arrested and sitting in our prison for minor issues that they shouldn’t even be in there for.”

Commissioner Rocky Ahner cited another program through the public defender’s office, which is trying to get prisoners the help they need instead of sitting in the prison.

“This is trying to catch it before they get into prison,” he said, adding that the county is looking at building lifelines to these offenders. “It’s going to save us money and it’s helping the people.”

Nothstein cited the recent trend with the courts and county to create diversion programs to help reduce the amount of people who are repeat offenders.

Those include drug and veterans treatment court, the new program the public defender is beginning and other drug and alcohol related programs that are in the works.