Good afternoon!

The Appalachian Syndemic Summit is less than 2 weeks away and the agenda has been released!

Amneal Pharmaceuticals reached a deal to resolve claims it helped fuel the U.S. opioid epidemic. The company would pay $92.5 million in cash and provide $180 million worth of naloxone nasal spray over 10 years to participating states and local governments. Or states can opt to receive 25% of the products value in cash. A reporter at Filter argues that states should take the cash. In addition to the financial terms, a final settlement remains contingent on agreement on critical business practice changes. 

The Principles team has launched a database of suggested indicators for monitoring opioid settlement funds. Opioid Settlement Principles Resource and Indicators (OSPRI) aims to help local government leaders find tangible impact indicators to evaluate community objectives funded by opioid settlement dollars. Check it out here.

MTX is holding a webinar May 28 at 2pm EST to discuss the tool. Register here.

Alabama

Legislation that will allow counties to use opioid settlement money for mental health treatment has passed the legislature and heads to the Governor’s desk. The bill creates a co-occurring diagnosis of substance use and mental health problems and also increases the flexibility of probate judges to pause criminal proceedings to allow defendants to access mental health treatment.

Georgia

The City of Kingsland allocated opioid settlement funds to the local drug court. Notes from the City’s website indicate a request was made by Judge Stephen Kelley for the City to allocate seemingly all of its settlement funds to the Brunswick Judicial Circuit Drug Court. The city appears to have received $82,000 so far.

Maryland

Harford County has been holding listening sessions to gather public input on the use of opioid settlement funds. Two sessions remain before the end of the month. Register here.

New York

Clinton County Community Services Board is using settlement funds to partner with Substance Abuse Prevention and Recovery of Clinton County (SPARCC) to create a youth-led prevention coalition: Junior SPARCC. Instead of selecting specific programs to invest in, the Community Services Board decided to let school administrations design programs tailored to the needs of their student and community needs. Funding is not limited to schools — any person or organization with the ability to contract with the Community Services Board can request funds for a program aligned with SPARCC’s missions.

Lewis County has released an online survey asking residents for input on how to use their share of opioid settlement money. The settlement money will establish a new grant program and the Lewis County Community Services Board’s subcommittees on substance use disorder and mental health will use the public survey results to decide what the grant program will prioritize. The survey is here and will be open through the month of May.

North Carolina

Polk County’s Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee is hosting a series of community listening sessions across the county to give community members the opportunity to review strategy options for spending their settlement funds. See article for schedule.

Ohio

The City of Hamilton is requesting funds from OneOhio to support the city’s fire department. Specifically, they are requesting funds to purchase:

• 14 Lifepak 35 monitors, a next-generation heart monitor and defibrillator that costs $60,000 per unit (twice as high as previous generations of this technology)
• 8 motorized Stryker StairChairs ($20,000 per unit)
• 1 to 3 medic units (which range from $195,000 to $225,000 each)
• 8 Lucas chest compression devices ($20,000 per unit)
• 15 AED (defibrillator) devices ($3,000 each)

Pennsylvania

News reports several county spending decisions made in 2022 and 2023. Cumberland County and Perry County committed funds for medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) because of their fear of litigation related to the unfunded mandate that county jails must provide access to all three federally approved medications. Other counties whose reports indicated they dedicated settlement funds to similar treatment programs for people in jail include Butler, Clearfield, Pike, Wayne, and York. Chester County also spent some funds on MOUD in addition to opioid overdose reversal medication, expanded toxicology testing in its coroner’s office, and a small amount of funds for Project Sticker Shock, which uses stickers to warn people that it’s illegal to provide alcohol to anyone under age 21. Additionally, Fayette County reported using $100,000 in funds for a housing program, and Armstrong and Indiana counties plan to jointly hire a case manager for their counties’ child welfare agencies who could talk to kids or parents with substance use disorder.

Lackawanna County has three main priorities for their settlement funds: About half a million dollars will go toward funding housing for people in addiction recovery, $250,000 is slated for treatment plans at the county jail and another quarter million will be dispersed in grants. The county received 12 applications for the grant funds, and will be announcing recipients in the coming weeks. 

South Carolina

Greenville County voted to appropriate $200,000 of settlement funds to Challenges, Inc, a nonprofit syringe services program that has been all volunteer-run since it established in 2017. This funding will allow the director to receive a paycheck for the first time. Additionally, $50,000 will be sent to the county EMS department to not only bolster its naloxone supply, but also to start a needle exchange program. And more funds will be sent to the detention center to begin a medication assisted treatment program.

Tennessee

Washington County has approved using $500,000 of restricted settlement funds to hire behavioral health professionals for a program in the local detention center. 

West Virginia

The City of Wheeling has decided to table the proposals to allocate all first round settlement funds to the fire department and police department as residents have growing concerns on how the money is being used. Some who spoke before the council proposed other specific uses – including funding directed more toward treatment and prevention efforts as opposed to emergency response and enforcement measures. One attendee spoke against a part of the city’s proposal that includes using a portion of the funds to buy an all-terrain vehicle for the police department so it can access remote homeless encampments. The proposal will be discussed before the Public Safety Committee of the Wheeling City Council, and a formal proposal application process is being developed by city council for others wishing to request funds. 

Marion County gave out the first $50,000 of settlement funds for education and prevention programs:

• $20,000 for Center of Hope, which is run by the Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church
• $20,000 for Compassion Central, a faith-based recovery community organization
• $10,000 for North Marion High School’s Talking About the Consumption of Substances (TACOS) program

The Commission president also indicated that funds will likely be allocated for the GameChanger program. Notably, the commission said they will not audit how any organizations use the money, and it wasn’t made clear how they would evaluate the performance of an organization.

Alabama

Oversight Commission on Settlement Funds

• TBD
• In-person in Montgomery, AL
• Can watch live on their website (choose ‘Room 200’ for location then ‘Oversight Commission on Alabama Opioid Settlement Funds’ for meeting)

You can also watch livestreams and recordings on The Alabama Channel (thanks to the League of Women Voters of Alabama Education Fund)

Kentucky

Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission (meeting info here)

• Business Meeting: May 14 – CANCELLED
• In-person located in Frankfort, KY and attendees can give public comment
• Can watch live and recordings on their YouTube channel
• Prevention/Reform/Compliance Subcommittee Meeting: May 14, 1:00pm
• In-person located in Frankfort, KY
• Treatment & Recovery Subcommittee meeting: May 14, 1:00pm
• In-person located in Frankfort, KY

Maryland

Opioid Restitution Fund Advisory Council (meeting info here)

• May 30, 10:00am – 11:00am EST
• Meetings are all-virtual. Can watch live via Google Meet & there is usually an opportunity for public comment

New York

Opioid Settlement Fund Advisory Board (meeting info here)

• May 17, 10:30am – 4pm EST
• In-person located in Albany and attendees can give public comment
• Can watch live and recordings on their website

Monthly ‘Community’ meeting: 4th Wednesday of the month at 12pm

• See this page under ‘Community Input’

Ohio

OneOhio Recovery Foundation Board (meeting info here)

• Full Board Meeting: June 12, 10:30am EST
• In-person meetings are located in Columbus and are open to the public, but there is usually no opportunity for public comment
• Can watch live and recordings on their website
• Executive Committee: May 22, 9:00am EST
• Grant Oversight Committee: May 22, 3:00pm EST
• Expert Panel: May 16, 2pm EST
• Personnel Committee: June 6, 3pm EST

Regional Information Sessions (see events calendar for most up-to-date info)

• TBD

Pennsylvania

Opioid Misuse and Addiction Abatement Trust (meeting info here)

• Board of Trustees Meeting: June 20, 2:00pm – 3:30pm EST
• In-person located in Harrisburg
• All virtual and can watch live via Zoom and recordings on YouTube

South Carolina

Opioid Recovery Fund

• SCORF Board Meeting: June 19 time and location TBD (info here)
• Coffee Chat: June 7, 9:30am EST, virtual
• This is held the first Friday of the month and is an opportunity to ask questions and hear announcements about opioid settlement funds

Tennessee

Opioid Abatement Council

• Meeting: June 18, 9:00am – 11:00am CST (info here)
• In-person located in Memphis, TN. (Location rotates around the state.) Meetings are also available to watch via Teams – All attendees are able to give public comment
• Recordings and meeting minutes are available on their website

Virginia

Opioid Abatement Authority (meeting info here)

• Grants Committee: May 23, 3-5pm EST
• Finance Committee: May 23, 2-3pm EST
• Board Meeting: June 14, 3-5pm EST

West Virginia

West Virginia First Foundation, Inc. (meeting info here)

• Board of Directors meeting: May 16, 2:00pm EST <– date change!