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The path to recovery from substance addiction and other mental health conditions requires overcoming many obstacles. One challenge is paying for assessments, diagnosis, testing and recovery. But JLAP may be able to help through its Treatment Fund.
The fund has been around for several years, but recently the Indiana Supreme Court has clarified that certain JLAP volunteers may solicit and accept donations to assist lawyers struggling to pay for necessary steps in recovery.
The fund, which is administered by the Indiana Bar Foundation, has seen increased demand over the last several years as substance use and other mental health issues surfaced or worsened during COVID isolation. As the need has increased, Indiana lawyers have stepped up with tax-deductible donations to the fund. JLAP volunteers now seek to increase awareness of the fund and broaden the base of volunteer donors.
JLAP Executive Director Terry Harrell notes that the fund is a crucial piece of JLAP’s ability to assist struggling lawyers. The fund has assisted lawyers lacking medical insurance to obtain assessments, counseling, alcohol and drug testing, and even residential treatment.
One JLAP client who benefited gave this assessment. “Because of the generosity of JLAP and their unconditional care and support, I am more than three years sober today. I am, without a doubt, the happiest I have ever been, personally and professionally. If not for the JLAP Treatment Fund, I could not have afforded the treatment that I desperately needed. If not for that treatment, I wouldn’t be sober today. Quite honestly, without treatment, I probably would not even be here at all. I could not have gotten sober on my own and I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to JLAP for lifting me up at a time when I could not lift myself up. I hope that as I continue in my sobriety and my career that I am able to give back to this program that has given me my life back. It cannot be overstated how important the JLAP Treatment Fund is and how vital it was in my recovery.”
JLAP Committee Chair Inge Van der Cruysse has identified increasing exposure and donations as a focus for 2023. A surge in donations followed the tragic passing of Senior Judge Marc Kellams. JLAP has sought and received support from a number of Indiana lawyers, including a group of past presidents of the Indiana State Bar Association. JLAP volunteers have developed a strategy to seek donations from law firms and local and specialty bar associations, as well as community foundations and others.
While donors are encouraged to make donations in amounts that are comfortable for them, many have looked to the following standard costs for commonly needed services as a guide in determining the amount of their donations:
• One individual counseling session: $125
• One psychiatry appointment: initial assessment $350; follow-up $175
• Genetic testing for medication efficacy: $350
• Multidisciplinary, multiday assessment: $5,000
• Neuropsychological testing and assessment for cognitive functioning: $5,000
• Intensive outpatient: $4,500
• Detox: $5,000
• Residential: about $7,500 a week; $30,000 for four weeks
For those so inclined, donations can be made online on the Indiana Bar Foundation website; simply designate the JLAP Treatment Fund as the intended beneficiary at the time of your donation. Members of the judiciary and staff, as employees of the Indiana Supreme Court, are not permitted to solicit donations. Questions can be directed to JLAP Chair Inge Van der Cruysse, or to JLAP committee members Tonya Bond or R. William Jonas Jr.•
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R. William Jonas Jr. is a partner at May Oberfell Lorber and a member of the JLAP Committee. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
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