Behavioral

Opioid Settlement Funds

As a result of national litigation surrounding pharmaceutical and related companies, Polk County is receiving opioid settlement funds to address the harms of opioid use in our community. In accordance with the National Opioid Settlements, Polk County is allowed to allocate funds for projects related to prevention, treatment, recovery, and harm reduction. Polk County’s vision for opioid settlement funds is to invest in high-need areas with the greatest impact on people with lived experience in a transparent, intentional, and sustainable manner.  

 

Opioid Settlement Funds Strategic Plan 

Polk County Behavioral Health & Disability Services leads fund administration and has created a strategic plan for funds in FY2024-26. As the first strategic funding priority, grants will be awarded for programs that provide direct supports for people with lived experience. 

Read the Polk County Opioid Settlement Funds FY2024-26 Strategic Plan 

 

Supports for People with Lived Experience Grants  

Five awards of up to $200,000 ($1,000,000 total) will be awarded to organizations in FY2025-26 that will provide immediate interventions to save lives and enrich the quality of life and services for people with lived experience that fall under the Opioid Abatement Strategies Schedule B Letter B, Support People in Treatment and Recovery; Letter C, Connections to Care; and Letter H, Harm Reduction. These strategies are historically underfunded, and opioid settlement funds provide a unique opportunity for organizations to cover start-up costs for innovative programs or expand existing programs with limited capacity in Polk County. Programs must directly support people who are using substances, in treatment, and/or are in recovery. 

Applications open April 19, 2024 and must be submitted by 5:00 pm on Wednesday, May 22, 2024. Full application instructions, and all application questions, are included in the Request for Grant Applications. 

Read the Request for Grant Applications (FY2025-26): Supports for People with Lived Experience 

 

Other Priority Areas 

Through a Sequential Intercept Model (SIM) Workshop in May 2023, community stakeholders identified the other FY2024-26 priorities for opioid settlement funds: 

  • Deflection and prearrest diversion: enact a diversion program to prevent harms associated with incarceration and promote a public health approach to addressing substance use. 
  • Recovery housing: increase the availability of high-quality recovery housing options to provide foundational support for people with lived experience. 
  • Jail reentry: connect people with substance use disorders to resources while incarcerated and upon release to reduce the risk of overdose and improve their quality of life. 

The SIM Mapping Report details gaps in services for people with mental health or substance use disorders who come into the contact with the criminal justice system in Polk County and is a supplemental document to the Strategic Plan.  

Read the Sequential Intercept Model Mapping Report – Polk County, Iowa 

 

Planning initiatives are underway to identify gaps in substance use treatment and prevention in Polk County and are detailed in the Strategic Plan. For further information on Polk County’s Opioid Settlement Funds FY2024-26 Strategic Plan and the Supports for People with Lived Experience Grants, please reach out to Gabbie Ruggiero, Opioid Settlement Program Planner, at gabbie.ruggiero@polkcountyiowa.gov.