Understanding and Accessing Opioid Settlement Funds: What it Means for Defenders and Communities
This program explores the over $50 billion in opioid settlement funds, providing essential resources, and explaining how funds are allocated and distributed between state and local governments.
As billions of dollars in opioid settlement funds become available to help state and local governments remediate the harms of the opioid overdose crisis, it is imperative that those closest to the problem drive solutions. For decades, defense lawyers and the communities they serve have witnessed firsthand the devastation of the overdose crisis. Now it is essential that they know how to monitor opioid settlement funds, identify opportunities to access these monies, and engage in advocacy to ensure that the settlement dollars go toward meaningful solutions.
This webinar discusses what defenders need to know about the over $50 billion in opioid settlements. The program provides information about what the settlements are and demystify how funds are allocated and distributed between state and local governments. The presenters share information about essential resources that can help you learn about your state's practices and rules on how the funds can be spent. The webinar also describes real world examples of how defenders have accessed settlement funds to support their clients and communities and help you navigate where to find grant opportunities.
Co-Sponsors:
Webinar:
Speakers:
- Kate Boulton, JD, MPH, Senior Legal Technical Advisor at the Vital Strategies Overdose Prevention Program
- Derek Carr, JD, Legal Technical Advisor at the Vital Strategies Overdose Prevention Program
- Christine Minhee, JD, Founder of OpioidSettlementTracker.com
Resources:
- OpioidSettlementTracker.com, including the Expenditure Report Tracker and Community Grant Tracker
- State-by-State Guide to Opioid Settlement Funds, Vital Strategies
- Tribal Opioid Settlements Website
- Appalachia Opioid Remediation Database
- Opioid Solutions Center, National Association of Counties (NACo)
- A Roadmap for Opioid Settlement Funds: Supporting Communities & Ending the Overdose Crisis
- Principles for the Use of Funds from the Opioid Litigation and related implementation tools. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
- “How-To” Guide for Understanding Opioid Settlements State-to-State, National Association of County and City Health Officials and Community Education Group,
- Find Out How Much Opioid Settlement Cash Your Locality Received, from Payback: Tracking the Opioid Settlement Cash, KFF Health News