Carbon County is looking to secure a grant to support the implementation of a risk assessment that will help its adult probation office.

On Thursday, the county commissioners voted to apply for the 2016 County Adult Probation and Parole System Improvement grant in the amount of $41,450.Chief Adult Probation Officer Rick Parsons said that the grant, if secured, would provide a validated risk and needs assessment in the county's adult criminal justice system."The risk assessment will actually help us identify what specific issues we have in Carbon County and will help us identify and target those issues," he said.Parsons said that the grant is directly in response to a strategic plan that was developed by the Pennsylvania County Chief Adult Probation and Parole Officers Association in collaboration with various state agencies.The goals of the strategic plan includes "seeking to enhance, over a three-year period, Pennsylvania County Adult Probation and Parole's capacity to achieve its vision of public safety, reduced recidivism and effective use of public funds" by working to develop evidence-based plans to help on all levels between pretrial and post-conviction placement and supervision, as well as victims of crimes.Parsons said that this assessments was already put into his 2017 budget for the department and is hopeful the grant will be awarded.In other matters, the commissioners approved the execution of a $200,000 Local Share Account grant with the Commonwealth Financing Agency for the proposed multiuse fire training facility project. The date of the grant contract is from July 1 through June 30, 2019.Commissioners' Chairman Wayne Nothstein said that the county has secured $413,000 in grants for phase 1 of the project, which includes the widening of Emergency Lane into the proposed site in Nesquehoning, as well as storm drains and site preparation work for the rest of the project.Carbon County is also eyeing applying for another multimodal grant for the project, which is due in December.