Carson City Supervisors approve Family Services Unit pilot program at Carson City Jail
On Thursday, Carson City Supervisors voted to approve a new pilot program at the Carson City Jail called the Family Services Unit, which will be created to support inmates with children and at-risk children.
The program is preventative, which means that it is not offered to anyone currently facing charges for child-related crimes such as abuse or neglect.
The purpose of the program is to identify any arrested caregivers who left behind children to see what types of services can be provided.
The pilot project will, at first, be used to gather data and is voluntary for inmates to opt in.
The overall goal is to prevent future child abuse and neglect cases, and to identify where the children end up who are left behind whether it be with a family member or within the custody of social services.
The program is meant to be combined with other wraparound services to see exactly what people need to prevent further issues with law enforcement whether those include mental health help, substance abuse help, housing and more.
At this time, according to Carson City Sheriff’s Office Assistant Sheriff Daniel Gonzales, the grant is “robust” which will allow the sheriff’s office to explore multiple avenues of help for the children of offenders, to see what type of services they need and what can be provided.
“There is definitely a need, and we just need to be able to target that need to find out specifically where we need to put our efforts,” Gonzales said.
The grant will also fund a new position of a family service case worker within the sheriff’s office who will report to CCSO Captain Earl Mays.
Through September 2025, the program will be funded with ARPA funds, and afterward could potentially be wrapped into other child abuse prevention grants the sheriff’s office already receives.
The grant is for $460,000.
The grant is a reimbursable grant, which means it will be paid from the general fund first and then the grant will reimburse the city for expenses.
Acceptance of the grant and the new program was unanimous.