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The 68-bed treatment center will be located in a former corrections facility already owned by the county. Individuals will be referred by physicians, law enforcement or the department of social services. A clinician and peer support specialists will be available around the clock.

Burke County isn’t planning to tackle substance use problems on its own. The county is seeking collaboration with western North Carolina counties to form a consortium to share resources and ensure individuals served as the treatment center can return to any community in the region and receive ongoing care and support.

Each participating county will pledge 50 percent of their opioid settlement funds to the regional approach. The long-term facility will have beds that are allotted per the counties within the consortium. The five-to-seven-year goal is a self-sustaining facility where each county department of social services can contribute two full-time social workers to staff the center. 

The county has also created a working group that includes a variety of key organizations and individuals: Burke County Health Department; Burke County Department of Social Services; individuals in recovery; peer counselors; a chief of police; Partners in Health; UNC Blue Ridge Hospital’s Chief Medical Officer and Behavioral Health Nursing Supervisor and the pastor of a local church to represent the faith-based community.

Burke County’s next steps are to hire a project manager and a consultant to assist with work moving forward. The county will conduct a program inventory in each prospective partner county with the expectation that each will contribute harm reduction services, medication assisted treatment, naloxone distribution, community paramedicine, drug court and peer support facilities in this regional approach.

For more information about Burke County’s plans for its opioid settlement funds, please contact Burke County Public Health Director Danny Scalise at danny.scalise@burkenc.org.

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Funds from the national distributor settlement include two payments – one nearly $500,000 over the course of nine years and the second of $2.1 million to be allocated over the course of 15 years. 

The task force will consist of 11 members appointed by the county board chair and confirmed by the county board. Members will include three supervisors from the county board; one public health official; a member from both the sheriff’s office and the City of Eau Claire Police Department; a member of the department of human services; the county criminal justice services director and three members of the public – one who has or is working in opioid abatement and two others with lived experience.

Members of the task force will be charged with starting discussions on the current state of the opioid crisis in Eau Claire County and identifying gaps in programing and funding. The task force will support projects and programs such as medication-assisted treatment in the county jail, sober living opportunities, peer support programs, naloxone supply and distribution and opioid disposal options.

The task force will also recommend holding public listening sessions for community input on how best to use the settlement funds.

The county is currently recruiting members for the task force.

For more information about Eau Claire County’s Opioid Task Force, contact Assistant to the County Administrator Samantha Kraegenbrink at samantha.kraegenbrink@eauclairecounty.gov.

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In an effort to distribute the money as quickly as possible, Wayne County commissioners began drafting an application for community organizations to apply for settlement funds in September 2022. The grant application includes key priorities established through meetings with support groups, faith-based groups, families and residential treatment facilities. Each applicant will be scored on how they plan to address the established priorities, which include reducing overdose fatalities and improving treatment and recovery outcomes for people with substance use disorder.

Upon receipt of the first payment from the settlement ($411,000), Wayne County issued an invitation to submit proposals to a database of around 400 community-based organizations. The application is open to both small and large, non-profit and for-profit organizations. Once awarded funds, grantees must file regular reports with the county on how they are using the money.

For more information about how Wayne County plans to use its funding, contact Commissioner Mary Anne Butters at mabutters@co.wayne.in.us.

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Aligned with their mission to use the funds to address opioid prevention, treatment and recovery, the advisory council is seeking community input through a funding prioritization survey to gauge how community members and professionals feel settlement funds should be prioritized. The survey asks participants to allocate a percentage of funds to four buckets: prevention, treatment and recovery, harm reduction and criminal justice. Participants can also rank programs they think will be the most important within the four buckets to address the opioid epidemic.

From the survey, the advisory council will work to tailor requests for proposals to align with the top spending buckets identified in the survey. Members of the council will then advise the board of commissioners on how to spend the funds, including specific project proposals.

For more information about how Wright County plans to use its funding, contact Becky Graham, Wright County Public Health Nurse, at rebecca.graham@co.wright.mn.us.