by Ben Botkin, Oregon Capital Chronicle
September 5, 2024
Oregon public health officials are mapping out plans for spending $41 million in opioid settlement funding that will go toward preventing addiction, expanding treatment programs and adding recovery community centers.
Earlier this year, the Opioid Settlement, Prevention, Treatment & Recovery Board approved the funding for projects in those areas. Now, the Oregon Health Authority is working with contract recipients on their plans and timelines. The money will fund mobile response teams, pay for buildings and rent so support groups can gather in recovery centers and cover the costs of programs that educate and promote awareness among youth and children about the dangers of illicit drugs.
The funding represents just a portion of the nearly $600 million Oregon will receive during the next 18 years as part of a settlement in a national lawsuit that states filed against opioid manufacturers, distributors and pharmacies.
For years, the opioid crisis left people nationwide addicted to painkillers. After years of litigation, states, including Oregon, are now receiving hundreds of millions of settlement dollars to address the crisis.
On Wednesday, the Oregon Health Authority told the settlement board that the projects include programs to help people stay off drugs in southern and eastern Oregon and in coastal counties, help disadvantaged groups and increase the treatment and recovery workforce. The 17-member board unanimously approved those plans.
Oregon Health Authority officials told the board they will get funding to recipients as quickly as possible and without a lot of red tape.
“I know that the board’s goal was to distribute funds within this biennium, which ends at the end of June, and so I’m absolutely not concerned to be able to meet that timeline,” Courtney Fultineer, the agency’s interim overdose prevention program manager, told the board.
Here’s where the money will go:
Nearly $14 million will go towards prevention programs and workforce development. The biggest piece of that, $9.5 million, will go to counties or nonprofits for local efforts, which could include prevention education, outreach, developing local policies or partnerships with schools.
Another $3.8 million will go to community-based organizations for programs that reach people in marginalized communities, such as Native American or Black communities and others who’ve traditionally been disadvantaged. Those programs can work with children, youth, families and adults.
And $450,000 will go to a program to train and certify prevention specialists who work with people in addiction.
At total of $13 million will be dedicated to recovery centers that allow people who are off drugs – or considering it – to socialize. They offer a space for support groups, community events and classes in areas like financial literacy and job training. Most of it – $11.7 million – will go toward five new recovery centers in Wasco, Curry, Douglas, Klamath and Josephine counties, paying for staffing, purchasing and renovation of a building, furniture and vehicles.
Recovery center planned for Columbia River Gorge to help people stay off drugs
The remaining $1.3 million will go toward other areas.
About $830,000 will help recovery community centers expand culturally specific and youth services in recovery centers. This includes translation and interpretation services, outreach to marginalized communities and hiring bilingual staff.
The state also is giving $500,000 for personnel costs to Oxford House, which runs recovery houses that help people transition to independence while recovering from addiction. Oxford House, a national organization, runs more than 200 recovery houses throughout Oregon.
In October, the board will hear about how opioid settlement funding will pay for treatment programs, the final part of the state’s plan. The $14.3 million treatment plan includes medication units for Clackamas and Multnomah counties.
Another eight opioid treatment programs are planned for the rest of the state, including two in northeastern Oregon, one in the Columbia River Gorge, one in Klamath County, two on the Oregon Coast and one each in Redmond and Lane County.
All of those programs can potentially be mobile, allowing them to reach areas with the highest needs and adapt.
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUBSCRIBE
Oregon Capital Chronicle is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oregon Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Lynne Terry for questions: [email protected]. Follow Oregon Capital Chronicle on Facebook and X.