Baltimore leaders assessing allocation of opioid settlement funds
Baltimore City leaders are assessing how hundreds of millions of dollars in funding have been used to fight the opioid epidemic.
"While one death from an overdose is one too many, Baltimore continues to see a significant decline in overdose fatalities," said Sara Whaley, executive director of the Baltimore City Mayor's Office of Overdose Reduction (BCMOOR).
Whaley said preliminary data shows a 22% decline in overdose deaths in Baltimore, which she credited in part to funding from the Opioid Restitution Fund (ORF).
"Baltimore has deepened its commitment to funding evidence-based initiatives through the ORF," Whaley said. "In the past year, the fund has supported services such as distributing naloxone to older Black men, increasing access to medications for opioid use disorder, expanding drug checking supplies like fentanyl and xylazine test strips, and targeting supportive services to individuals impacted by the overdose crisis."
Tackling Baltimore's opioid crisis
In 2018, Baltimore joined the state and other jurisdictions in suing the companies responsible for perpetuating the opioid epidemic.
In 2022, Baltimore decided to take on the companies solo, walking away with $427.5 million in restitution.
Mayor Brandon Scott signed an executive order nearly two years ago defining how that money would be allocated to help continue fighting the crisis in Baltimore.
"We have developed a rigorous and supportive grant monitoring and oversight process. We are making sure every ORF dollar is accounted for and going to support Baltimore City," Whaley said.
How is the funding being used in opioid battle?
BCMOOR currently has 31 agreements in place, with $49.3M committed through grant agreements and $16.8M disbursed and monitored to date.
Each grantee is required to submit regular reports of how the money was spent and what kind of progress was seen to make sure it's fairly disbursed to all sectors of the community in need.
Whaley said this is just the beginning of what they hope to accomplish.
"These dollars are a once in a lifetime, but they are also a one time pot of money, so they will eventually run out," Whaley said. "But thankfully the ORF is not the only funding source for this work, and so through these technical assistance opportunities, we want to build up the programs that are doing good work in the city so they are competitive for other funding sources."
BCMOOR is in the process of analyzing the data available so far, and creating the next phase of it's strategic plan.
