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Kent County, Michigan
For Immediate Release: July 18, 2024 Contact: Phil Meade
PH: 616-856-1984
EM: phillip.meade@kentcountymi.gov
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Kent County Board of Commissioners Approves Opioid Settlement Spending Plan
Grand Rapids, MI (July 18, 2024) – The Kent County Board of Commissioners today approved a comprehensive plan for the first two years of investment of the opioid settlement funds allocated to Kent County. This initial plan also outlines the framework for future spending, aiming to effectively combat the opioid crisis in the community by investing in a wide range of services.
The opioid settlement is a result of a multidistrict lawsuit brought nationally by governments against opioid-related defendants, including drug manufacturers, distributors, and pharmacies. The monetary awards from these settlements were distributed to states and subsequently allocated among counties and municipalities. Kent County is set to receive a total of $19,075,917 in variable annual payments through 2038 as part of the stipulated settlements. To date, Kent County has received $4,698,866 in settlement funding.
The opioid epidemic has had a devastating impact on the residents of Kent County. In 2023, 93 Kent County residents died from drug overdoses, with opioids involved in 68 percent of these cases. The average age of opioid-involved deaths was 44.4 years, with 80 percent being males and 20 percent females.
“The opioid crisis has touched countless lives in our community,” said Kent County Board of Commissioners Chair Stan Stek. “This spending plan is a critical first step in addressing the epidemic and providing much-needed resources to those affected, working towards a healthier community.”
Since 2016, the Kent County Opioid Task Force, comprised of leaders from the health, community, law enforcement, harm reduction, treatment, and prevention sectors, has been working together to combat the epidemic. The task force has worked to expand education, decrease stigma, distribute naloxone, and be a vehicle for best practice and information sharing among community partners in the county.
“The decisions on how to spend the settlement funds were carefully considered with an eye toward increasing investments in evidence-based programs with past success and beginning to invest in new strategies," said Rachel Jantz, Kent County Health Department Epidemiologist and Co-Chair of the Kent County Opioid Task Force. “We did not want to miss out on opportunities to further reduce drug-related overdoses and deaths among our residents.”
The settlements with drug manufacturers, distributors, and pharmacies define the eligible uses of the funds. Kent County’s approved spending plan recommends that the initial round of funding be allocated across eligible key service categories, including prevention, harm reduction, treatment, recovery, and cross-sectional services.
Specific funding areas for the first two years include:
- Expanding recovery coach services for those who dropped out of treatment and are at high risk of overdose: $200,000 per year
- Increasing funding for jail-based treatment programs to reduce the high prevalence of overdose after release from incarceration: $400,000 per year
- Enhancing community distribution of naloxone as a tool to reverse overdose: $30,000 per year
- Improving access to harm reduction tools, including fentanyl test strips: $10,000 per year
- Broadening evidence-based prevention curricula for middle and high school students: $125,000 in the second year
The spending plan was informed by opioid data from the Kent County Health Department (KCHD), the priorities set by the Kent County Opioid Task Force (KCOTF), and insights from the Overdose Fatality Review of Kent County (KCOFR). It involved robust engagement with internal and external stakeholders in a series of meetings throughout 2023 and 2024.
The KCHD, the KCOTF, and the KCOFR will continue to monitor the epidemic closely and will present funding recommendations for future years to ensure ongoing and effective responses to this crisis.
For more information on the Opioid Settlement Spending Plan and ongoing efforts to combat the opioid crisis in Kent County, visit the KCHD's website.
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Please note that the information in this news release may not match the details in the spending plan. Some of the data points have been updated since the spending plan was developed and approved by the Board of Commissioners.
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