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

Polk County will distribute almost $1,000,000 in county opioid settlement funds to five organizations over two years (FY25-26) to provide supports for people with lived experience of substance use. The Board of Supervisors passed Resolutions on June 18, 2024 to award funds to Bridges of Iowa, Full Circle Recovery, Primary Health Care, UCS Healthcare, and St. Vincent de Paul of Des Moines. The funds will expand access to integrated healthcare and peer supports for people with substance use disorders, especially those with opioid use disorder. Applications for an additional funding cycle for FY26-27 will be available in 2025. See below for summaries of the grant-funded projects.

Bridges of Iowa Project Summary

Full Circle Recovery Project Summary

Primary Health Care Project Summary

St. Vincent de Paul Project Summary

UCS Healthcare Project Summary

Harm Reduction Supplies Grants

Harm reduction is a Core Strategy of the National Opioid Settlements because of the extensive body of research that proves harm reduction efforts are effective public policy, improve the quality of life for individuals and communities, and save lives. As an extension of the Polk County Opioid Settlement Funds FY2024-26 Strategic Plan Priority Area 4: Supports for People with Lived Experience, on August 27, 2024, the Polk County Board of Supervisors approved the award of two $50,000 Harm Reduction Supplies Grants to the Iowa Harm Reduction Coalition and Steps of Hope Iowa. Both organizations will use the funding to provide life-saving supplies, including naloxone, the opioid overdose reversal drug, to Polk County residents affected by substance use.

Harm Reduction Supplies Grants Project Overviews

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 Harm Reduction Supplies Grant, email opioidsettlement@polkcountyiowa.gov.