Kanawha to start accepting applications for opioid settlement funded projects April 1

The Kanahwa County Commission met at the Kanawha County Courthouse on Thursday, March 21, 2024, to let entities know how to apply for opioid settlement funds. (Lexi Browning | West Virginia Watch)

Entities and organizations in Kanawha County interested in receiving a portion of the funds collected from litigation against opioid distributors and manufacturers in recent years will be able to apply for the money starting April 1, according to an announcement made at Thursday’s Kanawha County Commission meeting.

Kanawha County will use the same system and application process utilized when it distributed funds from the American Rescue Plan during the COVID-19 pandemic. Those requesting funds can ask for up to $250,000 per an application for programming and initiatives meant to combat the ongoing overdose and drug epidemic in the region.

Applications for the funds will be available on the county commission’s website starting April 1. Those applying can do so digitally, or print out the application and either send it to or drop it off at the county commission office.

Kanawha County Commission President Lance Wheeler said the application process — and all information collected through it — will be “as transparent as possible.”

“There are not going to be any executive sessions with this commission, we’re not going to have any backdoors,” Wheeler said.

The promise of transparency comes after Wheeler, last year, requested that the West Virginia First Foundation — the private nonprofit entrusted with distributing a bulk of the state’s opioid litigation dollars — adopt both the Open Meetings Act and the Freedom of Information Act into its bylaws before it began investing the money into programming. The Kanawha County Commission, in response to that request, approved a motion urging the nonprofit to do so.

To date, while the First Foundation has adopted its own public access policy, there are no requirements that it meet standards set by either the Open Meetings Act or FOIA. A bill that would have required the foundation to do so quietly died during the 2024 legislative session.

Wheeler, in an interview after Thursday’s meeting, said he was “disappointed” to see that lack of transparency measures officially applied to the nonprofit. Transparency, he continued, promotes not just accountability but also public participation to ensure funds are going where they can help the most.

“We [as a county commission] don’t believe we know everything about the epidemic or the solution it requires. The good thing about transparency is it lets the public give input,” Wheeler said. “We get to hear their ideas, what they’re going through with their struggles and how this money could be best used.”

Kanawha County has so far received about $2.9 million as part of its local government share for the money. Over the next 10 years, the county will see around $7 million coming in as part of its share for the disbursements. This does not include any money given to initiatives by the First Foundation, which draws from a separate pot of money.

Applications submitted in the county will include questions like the background of the entity requesting the funding, its relevant experience in responding to the drug epidemic, how much money it is looking to receive and where that money will go. Once submitted, Kanawha County Commission staff will vet the applications and brief commissioners on where funding is being requested. Two firms — Shuman McCuskey Slicer PLLC and Suttle & Stalnaker CPAs — will assist with ensuring applications for funding meet approved uses outlined in the First Foundation’s memorandum of understanding.

Those uses are broad, encompassing services for people in active addiction as well as recovery. There are also allowances for community support services, law enforcement, harm reduction, education and much more.

Wheeler said, in Kanawha County, he expects an emphasis to be put on longstanding organizations as opposed to startups.

“One of the bigger [questions] that we’re looking at is are you a startup or do you have a history of success,” Wheeler said. “We’re being told that when we spend this money, we want it to be through proven results.”

Commissioner Kent Carper — who called into Thursday’s meeting virtually — said he would like to see investment into mental health services and addiction prevention in the county. Wheeler, following Thursday’s meeting, said that part of the rationale for focusing on established programs is because of the limitations set by the amount of funding the county is receiving compared to the needs that exist.

“It’s only $7 million. We know that the mental health crisis unfolding in this region and this state, combating it comes with a much higher price tag than $7 million. We need to ensure every dollar we have is spread as far as it will go to get as much done as possible,” Wheeler said. “This is especially true knowing that the opioid crisis continues today; it’s not like it’s over. There’s not hours or days or years we can wait. We have to act now, and we need to do whatever we can to move this needle in the right direction right now.”

The post Kanawha to start accepting applications for opioid settlement funded projects April 1 appeared first on West Virginia Watch .