Why did Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro choose Schuylkill County to be the third county in the state to launch the Pennsylvania Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion program?

“Schuylkill County picked itself,” Shapiro said Tuesday, speaking from courtroom number 1, Schuylkill County Courthouse. “(Schuylkill County) could be a model for the rest of the commonwealth.”

Schuylkill County joins the counties of Somerset and Carbon, which launched its program in March 2019. The foundation of the program is initiating drug treatment referrals through interaction with law enforcement personnel.

PA LEAD allows someone seeking treatment for addiction to visit their local police department and be connected with a participating local treatment partner without threat of arrest.

Through the program, the office of the attorney general partners with district attorneys and law enforcement to help open doors for people seeking addiction treatment. The office helps set up training for law enforcement personnel, provides sample documents and policies, and establishes connections and partnerships with local treatment facilities.

“Today in Pennsylvania we will lose 12 members of our commonwealth family,” Shapiro said. “We have to look at this in a multipronged way — this is a disease and not a crime.

“For too long we have been doing a disservice to people suffering with substance abuse by not treating their addiction,” Shapiro said.

The program will allow police departments to open their station doors to those suffering from addiction, help identify treatment for those who seek it, assist with ensuring that people have transportation to the facilities, maintain relationships with local treatment providers to understand availability, and collect data to study outcomes.

“As I’ve said over and over again, addiction is a disease, not a crime. We must do more to help people who need — and want — serious treatment, and we must do more to reduce the financial burden of incarceration for taxpayers.”

Shapiro and other speakers were flanked by the county’s chiefs of police, as well as members of the county Sheriff’s Department, Carbon County District Attorney Mike Greek, county Prison Warden Eugene Berdanier, and Janene Holter, bureau of narcotics investigation and drug control for the attorney general. Schuylkill County district magistrates, judges, officers for Probation and Parole, representatives from the district attorney’s office, county commissioners, county Drug & Alcohol director Melissa Kalyan, treatment providers and members of the county’s opioid task force, called Schuylkill REACH, also attended.

Judge James Goodman, who launched Schuylkill’s drug treatment court in January 2017, said that PA LEAD will help drug dependent people get the treatment they need.

“We have to be smart in getting people help,” Goodman said. “It will improve the overall quality of life in our communities and that’s what this program is.”

Goodman said that District Attorney Mike O’Pake had the right blend — tough prosecution and compassion — to fight the drug problem. O’Pake said that the presence of all the county police chiefs and other law enforcement personnel was a sign of their desire to combat the problem.

“They’re (law enforcement) going to be the main ingredient, and their presence is indicative of their willingness to help fight this problem in Schuylkill County in a collaborative way,” O’Pake said. “I’m proud to stand here in front of all these law enforcement officers and know that they have my back.”

“District Attorney O’Pake created this important countywide policy working with my office. It is important and notable that the launch of this program has the support of Judge Goodman, police chiefs, law enforcement, and drug and alcohol officials in Schuylkill County. By connecting Schuylkill Countians to treatment, we will save lives, reduce the demand for illegal drugs, and make our communities safer,” Shapiro said.

Holter is the Office of Attorney General’s dedicated full-time agent who coordinates PA LEAD, including training, providing sample policies and documents, and convening key community stakeholders.