How Kent County will spend opioid settlement funds

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Kent County leaders have decided how the county will invest its opioid settlement funds for the first two years.

The Board of Commissioners on Thursday approved a two-year spending plan for the settlement funds, which come from lawsuits against opioid-related defendants like drug manufacturers, distributors and pharmacies, according to a release from the county.

The release says Kent County has already received nearly $4.7 million in settlement funding and is expected to receive a total of over $19 million in variable annual payments through 2038.

The plan divides funding between categories like treatment, recovery, harm reduction and prevention. For instance, it allocates $200,000 per year to expand recovery coach services for people who have dropped out of treatment; $400,000 per year for jail-based treatment programs; $30,000 per year to distribute more naloxone, a drug that can quickly reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, throughout the community; and $125,000 in the second year for prevention programs in middle and high schools.

“The opioid crisis has touched countless lives in our community,” stated Kent County Board of Commissioners Chair Stan Stek. According to the release, 93 Kent County residents died from drug overdoses in 2023. Opioids played a role in 68% of these deaths.

“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,” Stek’s statement continues.

To learn more about the work to combat the opioid crisis in Kent County, click here. You can also view the two-year spending plan in its entirety here.

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