Tobacco Grant Program Award.
The Sonora Police Department and the Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office are happy to announce that we have been chosen to receive funds from the Department of Justice Fiscal Year 2018-2019 Tobacco Grant Program. The Department of Justice Tobacco Grant Program is funded by Proposition 56, the California Healthcare Research and Prevention Tobacco Tax Act of 2016. This current grant award will provide program funding through June of 2021.
Our departments are two of 56 California agencies to receive an award from the DOJ Tobacco Grant Program, which is designed to provide funding to reduce illegal tobacco sales to minors and prevent the use of tobacco products. Our goal is to utilize these funds to hire a full-time School Resource Officer (SRO) for the county of Tuolumne and two part-time SRO’s for the city of Sonora. These School Resource Officers will provide guidance and mentorship to local youth and will be responsible for educating students on the dangers of tobacco use. Our agencies will be collaborating with the Tuolumne County Public Health Department on outreach and prevention programs.
We are honored to be among this year’s award recipients and we look forward to working with our local schools to keep our campuses healthy and safe.