How State And Local Agencies Are Working Together To Quell The Opioid Crisis State Agencies Received (2024)

How State And Local Agencies Are Working Together To Quell The Opioid Crisis State Agencies Received (1)


How State And Local Agencies Are Working Together To Quell The Opioid Crisis State Agencies Received (2)

Fabian Bolanos, a Metro Ambassador, is equipped with Narcan, for opioid overdoses as well as a CPR resuscitator mask kit. He works at the Metro Westlake / MacArthur Park station and has revived people with drug overdoses in L.A. County. Photographed on Wednesday, June 7, 2023. Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

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How State And Local Agencies Are Working Together To Quell The Opioid Crisis State Agencies Received (3)

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By Kaitlyn Levinson ,
Assistant Editor, Route Fifty

Connecting state and local government leaders

| January 12, 2024

Leaders at every level of government underlined the importance of collaboration to effectively leverage funding to address the nationwide opioid epidemic during a recent National Association of Counties event.

  • Opioids
  • Public Health
  • State and Local Government

Nationwide opioid-related overdose deaths have seemingly stabilized, following a treacherous rise during the pandemic, a federal health official says. But the fight against the opioid crisis is far from over for local leaders.

Indeed, the recent buzz of the holiday season was paired with overdose spikes in some communities like Lexington, Kentucky, and Portland, Maine. And despite overall overdoses in the U.S. slowing down since 2021, 31 states saw fentanyl-related deaths increase in 2023.

The opioid crisis “is not a red state or blue state issue,” said Dr. Rahul Gupta, director of the federal Office of National Drug Control Policy during a Jan. 10 webinar hosted by the National Association of Counties. “This is America’s issue. It’s a family issue.”

Gupta compared reversing the deadly opioid crisis to changing the direction of an ocean liner: “You can’t just turn it around…. You’ve got to slow it down, put it to a stop [and] turn it around.”

But curbing the opioid addiction crisis can’t be done by one person, one department or one government. A collaborative whole-of-government approach is needed within and across the U.S. to effectively allocate lifesaving treatment and prevention resources to individuals in need, Gupta said.

For local leaders, that means it’s not just county health departments or law enforcement agencies that should be prepared to respond to an overdose crisis, said Matt Chase, the CEO and executive director at the National Association of Counties. Employees at schools, libraries and recreation centers, for instance, should also be ready to administer a dose of naloxone, especially considering local and county responders are often the first line of defense against an overdose or substance use disorder.

But before local leaders can pour harm reduction and prevention resources into their communities, Gupta said counties must first identify where they can get money to combat the opioid crisis.

County officials should be aware of available funds from sources like the federal Health and Human Services Department, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state opioid response grants, he said. They should also keep track of each program’s purposes and restrictions so funds can be maximized even if they’re limited.

“The secret here is awareness. It’s important for county-level elected officials to be aware of what dollars are eligible from the federal government for the state, what is coming down and the differential between the two,” Gupta said.

That way, county officials can ensure that state-administered funds are maximized to their fullest extent, as observers have criticized states’ slow distribution of opioid settlement funds, for instance, while residents continue dying from overdoses.

Local governments should also pay close attention to how money from the national opioid settlement is doled out by federal and state governments.

On the East coast, Virginia established the Opioid Abatement Authority in 2021 to distribute settlement funds to state, county and city agencies. The independent agency is responsible for allocating 55% of the state’s slice of settlement money. Of that amount, 15% is reserved for cities and counties and 35% is meant for cooperative projects involving multiple cities and counties, according to the authority’s site. State agencies get 15% and the rest of that share controlled by the Abatement Authority (35%) is unrestricted.

The authority also created a “gold standard” for spending settlement money, said Anthony E. “Tony” McDowell, executive director of the Virginia Opioid Abatement Authority. Under the standard, if cities and counties report that they’ve allocated 100% of their settlement funds on approved opioid crisis abatement and remediation, the agency will increase the amount they’re eligible to receive by 25%.

On the West coast, however, one state is still working out the kinks of intergovernmental collaboration. Oregon counties have spent “a decade of not working very closely with the state,” said Gina Firman Nikkel, executive director of the Association of Oregon Counties. “What I will say is: We’re changing that right now.”

Oregon is poised to receive about $325 million over the next 18 years from settlement funds, which inspired the creation of the state’s Opioid Settlement Prevention, Treatment and Recovery Board in March 2022. Nikkel said board members have been meeting since November 2022 to develop a spending plan for administering funds to counties and localities.

The 2022 bill authorizing the board requires that funds be administered to evidence-based programs aimed at treating or preventing substance use disorders, including programs and services that address concurrent issues such as mental health conditions or being at-risk for incarceration.

It also requires an unspecified portion of funds be spent on “a unified and evidence-based state system for collecting, analyzing and publishing data about the availability and efficacy of substance use prevention, treatment and recovery services statewide.”

“A strong intergovernmental partnership is crucial to addressing our nation’s ongoing opioid crisis,” Nikkel said. “Federal, state and local officials must work hand in hand to achieve our shared goal of ensuring those that are in need in our communities receive the most critical care that they deserve.”

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How State And Local Agencies Are Working Together To Quell The Opioid Crisis State Agencies Received (2024)

FAQs

What is the government doing to help the opioid crisis? ›

Additionally, California is investing nearly $8 million in local organizations to support education, testing, recovery and support services – focusing on closing gaps in access to care and reducing inequities for populations at greater risk for overdose.

How has the US Dept of health and Human Services responded to the opioid crisis? ›

In response to these recent increases in opioid-related morbidity and mortality, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has made addressing the opioid abuse problem a high priority and is focused on implementing evidence-based approaches to reduce: 1) opioid overdoses and overdose-related mortality and ...

What federal agencies are involved in the opioid crisis? ›

Other federal agencies involved with the federal regulatory effort include the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), and the Department of Justice.

What are some solutions to the opioid crisis? ›

What can policymakers do to combat the opioid epidemic?
  • Limiting prescription opioids.
  • Reducing the flow of illicit opioids.
  • Promoting. treatment.
  • Reducing. harm.
Oct 18, 2019

How is the US addressing the opioid crisis? ›

The CMS Roadmap: Strategy to Fight the Opioid Crisis lays out CMS's three-pronged approach to combating the opioid epidemic: 1) focusing on prevention of new cases of opioid use disorder, 2) treating patients who have already become dependent on or addicted to opioids, and 3) utilizing data from across the country to ...

What are the five federal strategies to fight the opioid epidemic? ›

Recent findings: The strategy has five elements: (1) strengthening public health data collection and reporting; (2) advancing the practice of pain management; (3) improving access to addiction prevention, treatment, and recovery support services; (4) increasing availability of overdose-reversing drugs; and (5) ...

What are the government legislation in response to the opioid epidemic? ›

The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) of 2016 (Public Law 114-198, July 2016), The 21st Century Cures Act (P.L. 114-255, December 2016), and. The Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Act (P.L. 115-271, October 2018).

What states are most affected by the opioid crisis? ›

* The states that saw the largest increases in overdose deaths between 2011 and 2021 were California (5.0 per 100,000 people to 17.8 per 100,000 people), Florida (8.4 per 100,000 people to 28.9 per 100,000 people), New York (6.8 per 100,000 people to 24.5 per 100,000 people), Ohio (11.2 per 100,000 people to 40.1 per ...

How can healthcare providers help the opioid crisis? ›

Look for multiple prescriber history, which may suggest doctor shopping. Watch for history of other controlled substances such as benzodiazepines or muscle relaxants, which could increase opioid overdose risk. Educate through risk-benefit discussions, ensuring that patients understand opioid use guidelines.

Who is responsible for the opiate crisis? ›

Although it is difficult to establish the major drivers of this crisis, experts point toward the influence by pharmaceutical companies, inadequate regulation, overprescribing by the medical profession, and increased use of illegal heroin and synthetic opioids.

What companies are involved in the opioid crisis? ›

Opioid settlements
  • Johnson & Johnson will pay up to $230 million to New York. ...
  • McKesson Corporation, Cardinal Health Inc., and Amerisource Bergen Drug Corporation — three of the nation's largest drug distributors — will pay up to $1.1 billion to New York, of which more than $1 billion will go towards abatement.

How many opioid treatment programs are there in the United States? ›

Of the nearly 1,700 OTPs that responded to the National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services in 2019, 536 offered all three medications for OUD.

What has the government done to stop the opioid crisis? ›

The U.S Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), awarded nearly $1.5 billion to support states, tribal lands, and territories' efforts to address the opioid crisis and support individuals in recovery.

How is the opioid crisis being combated? ›

Prevention and access to treatment for opioid addiction and overdose reversal drugs are critical to fighting this epidemic. Primary care settings have increasingly become a gateway to better care for individuals with both behavioral health (including substance use) and primary care needs.

What are the two sides of the opioid crisis? ›

THE DOUBLE CRISIS: NONMEDICAL USE AND UNCONTROLLED PAIN

But it is also important to recognize that there is another side of the coin: opioids are an indispensable pharmaceutical treatment option for patients in pain, and many patients in medical need have inadequate access.

What is the FDA doing about the opioid crisis? ›

November: FDA launched the Safe Use Initiative to create and facilitate public and private collaborations within the health care community, with a goal to reduce preventable harm from medication. Safe use of opioids is a primary focus of this ongoing effort.

What is the CDC doing about the opioid crisis? ›

CDC continues to build partnerships through multiple public health and public safety collaborations to strengthen and improve efforts to reduce drug overdoses. These partnerships allow for effective implementation of programs and help advance promising strategies that address the overdose epidemic.

How much does the government spend on the opioid crisis? ›

Congress has approved $10.6 billion in discretionary spending to combat the opioid epidemic. Bar chart of the total estimated change in federal spending as a result of laws responding to the opioid crisis from FY 2017 to FY 2028.

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