Released: August 18, 2023
First of 18 rounds of annual grant allocations awarded to health and service providers, educational institutions, and government agencies to address opioid epidemic
Delaware County Council and the Delaware County Opioid Task Force announced the approval of over $6M in opioid-related grants to Delaware County health providers, higher educational institutions, and government agencies during Council’s August 2 Regular Public Meeting.
A total of $6,451,542 in grants have now been awarded to Delaware County as a result of the $26 billion multi-state opioid settlement with Johnson & Johnson, AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, and McKesson.
Delaware County was the first county in the state to sue for damages against suppliers of opioids and their consulting physicians, and as a result of proactive efforts by County and the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office, the County will receive millions of additional dollars per the terms of the 2022 settlement, which awarded an additional 15% in funds for litigating counties.
In total, Delaware County will receive $63M in annual payments over 18 years.
Strict controls governing how settlement funds can be used have been put in place to ensure that funds will be used exclusively for opioid-related programs and services that will help us tackle the devastating opioid epidemic affecting Delaware County residents, their loved ones, and the community.
To ensure that settlement funds are used to aggressively combat the opioid crisis by funding high-performing health and service-focused organizations experienced with evidence-based treatments of opioid-affected populations, Delaware County formed an interdepartmental and interdisciplinary Task Force last fall to provide recommendations to County Council for short-term remedies, immediate uses, and long-term programming.
The County and the Task Force also solicited input from Delaware County residents through a series of public input sessions and an online survey, efforts intended to ensure that all residents affected by the opioid crisis would have a voice in the solution, and to ensure that vetted organizations and programs received due consideration.
“Delaware County has taken enormous strides to reform how it thinks about and addresses public health and safety in recent years,” said Sandy Garrison, Chief of Human Services and Community Support and member of the Opioid Settlement Funds Task Force. “These funds will assist in the progress we are making to treat addiction as a public health epidemic and deliver necessary care and services to treat it.”
Delaware County health providers received a total of $517,056, with grants awarded to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia ($243,958), Nemours Children’s Health ($100,000) and Penn’s Center for Addiction Medicine and Policy ($173,098).
Delaware County service providers were allotted $3,993,451, from County Council, with grants awarded to the American Treatment Network ($1,500,000), Community Action Agency ($150,132), Merakey ($81,010), Mirmont Treatment Center ($625,629), Multicultural Community Family Services ($108,729.74), MVP Recovery ($861,640), The Shevlin Family Foundation ($129,310), and Savage Sisters Recovery, Inc. ($537,000).
Delaware County Institutions of Higher Education received $613,819 in grants from County Council, with Saint Joseph’s University receiving $400,900, Widener University receiving $146,419, and the Pennsylvania Institute of Technology receiving $66,500.
Delaware County Departments received a total of $1,327,316, with grants awarded to the Health Department ($1,137,286), Department of Human Services ($80,000), the Department of Human Services ($50,000), and the Medical Examiner’s Office ($60,030).
Settlement funds will be used to expand/support the use of Naloxone & medication-assisted treatments, treatment/screening for pregnant/post-partum women and Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome babies, warm hand-offs, treatment for incarcerated populations, prevention/education, syringe service programs, data collection & research, wrap-around services, the support of Drug Courts and Diversion Programs, and support of First Responders.
“Delaware County will use these funds to make a significant impact on the devastating addiction epidemic in our county,” said Delaware County Council Chair Dr. Monica Taylor. “We can help those suffering with addiction and educate the community about the danger of opioids with a focus on prevention and recovery.”
Delaware County Council and the Delaware County Opioid Task Force will continue to seek public input regarding future use of Settlement funds. On September 21, an Opioid Town Hall will be held at Widener University to discuss 2024 spending priorities. Details will be published in early September and on the Delaware County website and in the Delaware County Weekly newsletter.