For the past 50 years, Aspire Indiana Health has been helping the most vulnerable Hoosiers overcome physical and mental illness and experience an improved quality of life. Aspire is a nonprofit with centers located in Central Indiana with a reach that extends to assisting Hoosiers throughout the state. What Does …
Read More »Partners in Mental and Behavioral Health in Boone County: Part One
In this first of two segments focusing on the Boone County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) and its partnerships with Aspire Indiana Health and Integrative Wellness (InWell), we look at how these entities are three of Boone County’s strongest advocates for mental and behavioral health for not only county residents but for …
Read More »Advocating for Boone County’s Kids
In October 1965, Sylvia Likens died from what one sheriff described as “Indiana’s most terrible crime.” Sylvia’s Child Advocacy Center (Sylvia’s CAC) is dedicated to her memory and to the cause of protecting children from abuse—physical, mental, and sexual—throughout Boone County. What Is Sylvia’s Child Advocacy Center? Sylvia’s CAC is …
Read More »Mental Health America of Boone County: A Healthy Mind Leads to a Healthy Life
Mental Health America of Boone County (MHABC) is a 501(c)(3) organization and a chapter of Mental Health America (formerly the National Mental Health Association), the country’s leading nonprofit dedicated to helping all people live mentally healthier lives. With approximately 300 affiliates nationwide, MHABC represents a growing movement of Americans who …
Read More »Boone County Corrections Department on Rising to the Challenges
Michael Nance, executive director of the county’s community corrections department, has been with the department since 2008 and has been its executive director for five years. Nance shared his observations on the status of the county’s home detention, pretrial team, work release, and substance abuse programs amid the growing population. …
Read More »Investing in the County’s Youth Through the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative Programs
Indiana is part of a bipartisan movement for juvenile justice reinvestment known as the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI). JDAI is a public-private partnership being implemented nationwide. For more than 20 years, JDAI has proven that the juvenile justice system’s dual goals of promoting positive youth …
Read More »Boone County Prosecutor Kent Eastwood Echoes the Need for a County Justice Center
Boone County Prosecutor Kent Eastwood shared his thoughts on the justice center and explained how it would benefit his office as well as all related county governmental departments. The prosecutor’s office currently houses 30 members of Eastwood’s staff, and they are officially out of space. Additionally, the prosecutors’ caseloads have …
Read More »How a Justice Center in Boone County Will Help the Coroner’s Office
As Boone County Coroner Justin Sparks explained, the role and duties of a coroner consist of a great deal more than writing death certificates—the coroner is responsible for many services that impact the entire county. And now that the [county] population is on an upward trajectory, Sparks is sharing what …
Read More »Boone County Is Planning for Tomorrow by Building Today
As part of a series of articles that will be focused on Boone County leadership’s intent to build a justice center onto the existing county jail, this article will first focus on the need for the justice center with input provided by key stakeholders as the expansion relates to their …
Read More »Together Boone County Can Make a Difference in the Fight Against COVID-19
At the time of publishing this article, Boone County had been recently upgraded back to “orange” status regarding positive COVID-19 cases. The county color code advisory map is based on the seven-day average of positive cases and rate of cases per 100,000. Please note that test positivity is calculated by …
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