Guiding State and Local Governments in Making Equitable Opioid Settlement Investments

We collaborate with partner organizations to build the capacity of state and local leaders to make strategic, equitable investments of opioid settlement funds. Since October 2023, we have supported decision makers in identifying and funding evidence-based, community-driven approaches to prevent opioid and other substance misuse and overdose.

The influx of opioid settlement dollars presents a critical opportunity to strengthen healthy, equitable, and thriving communities and to address longstanding harms caused by the opioid epidemic. Through this project, we develop resources and guidance—including webinars, briefs, papers, and online materials—that help jurisdictions make strategic investments across the substance misuse prevention continuum. These tools emphasize community-level primary prevention, opportunities to maximize use of funds at the local level, meaningful engagement of people with lived experience, and strong evaluation practices for settlement-funded initiatives.

Primary activities:

• Conducting landscape analyses—in partnership with Big Cities Health Coalition and the Drexel University Urban Health Collaborative—that examine opioid settlement fund processes and spending across multiple states and counties.

• Hosting multi-part webinar series with strategy partners that guide decision makers in using opioid settlement funds effectively and equitably.

• Developing briefs and written guidance that outline considerations for local opioid remediation efforts and provide strategies for investing settlement dollars.

• Maintaining an online resource hub, developed with the Big Cities Health Coalition, that offers comprehensive guidance on planning, implementing, and evaluating settlement-funded initiatives.

• Providing direct technical assistance in partnership with ChangeLab Solutions and the Network for Public Health Law to support jurisdictions in managing and allocating settlement funds.

• Offering training opportunities that build skills among local leaders responsible for coordinating and distributing settlement funding, with a focus on selecting and implementing evidence-based strategies to prevent opioid misuse and overdose.