10/9/24 Update! The due date for the Request for Grant Proposals for the Opioid Settlement 2024 Funds has been extended to 10/25/24.
9/4/24 Update! The Request for Grant Proposals for the Opioid Settlement 2024 Funds can be found here.
On September 13, 2022, Delaware County Council announced an historic $62.5M opioid settlement with pharmaceutical distributors resulting from the combined legal actions taken by the County, State, and the District Attorney. The funds come from the $26 billion global settlement with Cardinal, McKesson, and AmerisourceBergen, three major pharmaceutical distributors of opioids.
The County will receive annual payments for 18 years, with an average amount of $3.5M per year, to tackle the devastating opioid epidemic affecting Delaware County residents, their loved ones, and the community.
These settlement funds will support programs directly related to the impacts of opioid overuse and addiction and is restricted to certain remediation purposes such as Naloxone training and distribution for first responders, schools, community support groups and families, medication-assisted treatment, expansion of warm hand-off programs and recovery services, prevention programs and treatment for incarcerated populations.
To ensure that the funds are used to combat the opioid crisis to the best of their ability, Delaware County has formed an interdepartmental and interdisciplinary Task Force to provide recommendations to County Council for short-term and immediate uses, as well as long-term programming that can be supported by the new funding.
Since the 2022 announcement, the County and the Task Force have continuously engaged the public through a series of town halls, roundtable discussions, surveys, and other public engagement activities to help ensure that the funds are spent appropriately and transparently.
In 2023, the County issued a public Request for Proposals for the first round of funding and announced the winning recipients on August 18, 2023. Delaware County health providers received a total of $517,056, service providers were allotted $3,993,451, Delaware County Institutions of Higher Education received $613,819, and Delaware County Departments received a total of $1,327,316.
For additional details regarding Round 1 recipients, read the First Round of Opioid Settlement Funds re-cap.
Initiative: Data Collection System
A comprehensive data system, to include resources, available beds in treatment facilities and the tracking of services within the County.
Initiative: Ongoing Care of Infants Born Addicted
Services for children who are born addicted to Opioids throughout their adolescence, to include resources and support for families and/or caregivers.
Initiative: Public Health Campaign
An extensive County-wide public health campaign which focuses on the availability of harm reduction resources, benefits of Narcan, Fentanyl Test Strips, etc. and emphasizes the no criminal penalty aspect of harm reduction efforts.
Initiative: Strategic Plan for Long-term Use of Funds
Development and implementation of a thorough strategic plan for the County's use of the Opioid Settlement Funds over the life of the monies.