Opioid settlement funds provide a critical opportunity for enhanced investment in strategies to counter a national overdose crisis that claimed over 100,000 lives in 2022.
To address what we saw as an essential information gap, the Vital Strategies Overdose Prevention Program and Christine Minhee of OpioidSettlementTracker.com partnered in 2023 to produce comprehensive guides on opioid settlement funds for all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Intended for a community audience, these guides demystify how each state will receive and allocate opioid settlement funds. The goal is to empower community advocates on the ground to effectively understand and engage with the settlement planning and spending process.
Each state-specific guide answers key questions, such as:
- How much money is my state getting, and what is the allocation between the state and local governments?
- Who makes decisions about settlement spending at the state and local levels?
- How do I track funds, and are there any accountability processes built into my state’s plan?
- How can I engage and what are the specific opportunities to get involved?
- What are the key, state-specific resources available to community advocates like me?
Opioid Settlement Funds:
State-Level Guides
*Click on a state below to access that state’s comprehensive guide on Opioid Settlement Funds:
These materials can also be found on the OpioidSettlementTracker.com website: https://www.opioidsettlementtracker.com/settlementspending
Vital Strategies and OpioidSettlementTracker.com encourage you to share these resources with your partners. We also welcome your feedback or information you’re willing to share about how the guides have helped support your work. You can contact us at overdose@vitalstrategies.org
Vital Strategies and OpioidSettlementTracker.com also wish to acknowledge the enormous contribution of Ari Edelman McHenry to the creation of these resources.
*Be sure to check the effective date on each state resource. For the most up-to-date information about state settlement plans, visit https://www.opioidsettlementtracker.com/settlementspending
Select Additional Resources
- Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Principles for the Use of Funds from the Opioid Litigation and related implementation tools
- National Association of Counties (NACo), Opioid Solutions Center
- National Harm Reduction Coalition, Webinar: Office Hours: Accessing Opioid Settlement Funding for Harm Reduction Programs, featuring Christine Minhee
- KFF Health News, Find Out How Much Opioid Settlement Cash Your Locality Received, from Payback: Tracking the Opioid Settlement Cash