Madison County officials have announced the first distribution of grants obtained through a $3.7 million opioid settlement, which will be provided to local agencies and organizations aiming to prevent substance abuse and aid in recovery.
“These initial grants will allow the recipients to provide critical, much-needed services,” said Madison County Mental Health Board Director Deborah Humphrey. “The services of these community partners will help mitigate the harms caused by the opioid epidemic.”
“These wonderful groups were already doing great work to help those affected by our ongoing opioid abuse epidemic,” said Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Haine. “We are glad that these additional funds are now available to help boost their efforts in our community. There is so much to do, and every little bit helps.”
Madison County’s settlement funds are part of $26 billion in nationwide settlement agreements in litigation against opioid distributors McKesson, Cardinal Health and Americourse Bergen and manufacturer Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc.
The settlement funds will be received in increments over a period of several years, through 2038 for the distributors and 2031 for Janssen. The first two installments from the distributors’ settlement were processed on Oct. 31, 2022, totaling $243,323. Janssen payments are set to begin this year.
“Pursuant to the terms of the settlement agreements, Madison County is obligated to use the settlement funds to support opioid remediation programs in the community,” Haine said. “I continue to urge community groups dedicated to fighting the scourge of opioid abuse to reach out and see if they are eligible for future grants.”
Representatives of the grant recipients met with Haine and Humphrey in late May to discuss the initiatives.
The initial distributions from the settlement include:
Madison County Sheriff/Centerstone of Illinois
The Madison County Sheriff’s Department received $127,000 to fund an on-site mental health professional at the Madison County Jail. The clinician will be contracted through Centerstone of Illinois and will develop individualized treatment plans, provide and/or coordinate services with community treatment resources for stabilization, treatment, and support for detainees struggling with an opioid-use disorder, substance-abuse disorder or mental health disorders.
Sheriff Jeff Connor said a majority of inmates at the jail suffer from these disorders.
“The opioid and drug epidemics are pervasive in the jail,” Connor said. “This will have a real impact helping to break the often-intertwined cycles of addiction and incarceration.”
Chestnut Health Systems
Chestnut Health Systems received $80,000 in order to expand its Recovery Specialist and Recovery Support Coordination services across the county. The expansion will address Naloxone distribution, medication assisted treatment, opioid-related treatment, and hand-off and recovery services.
BJC Healthcare (Alton Memorial Hospital)
Alton Memorial Hospital received $75,329 for a Peer Recovery Support Specialist in the Women’s Health and Childbirth Center “in an attempt to decrease the number of opioid-related deaths of pregnant women and babies with neonatal abstinence syndrome.” The program will utilize a practice referred to as Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT).
The specialist will provide universal screening using shared experience, motivational interviewing skills and screening tools. Based on those results, interventions, care coordination and referrals for treatment will be offered to women identified with an opioid or substance-use disorder.
AMARE
AMARE received $44,002 to aid in recovery support services in the metro-east region for individuals struggling with the impacts of addiction and their families. Specifically, the grant will be used by a Certified Recovery Support Specialist to expand recovery support services through Anderson Hospital. The funds will also be used for additional prevention efforts through transition to recovery services.
“AMARE will broaden the scope of recovery services to include co-occurring substance-use disorders or mental health conditions; and providing comprehensive wrap-around services to individuals in recovery, including housing, transportation, job placement and training, and childcare,” a press release states.
After the meeting in May, Executive Director of AMARE Ty Bechel said there is significant need for the programs to combat opioid addiction.
“This funding will allow us to assist individuals who are impacted by substance use by going directly to them in a medical setting,” Bechel said. “Our recovery coach funded by this opportunity can meet them where they’re at and begin helping with support and services immediately.”
Jewell Psychological Services (JPS)
JPS received $37,700 to serve as Consulting Program Evaluator for each of the grant initiatives. It will monitor the grants and work with the programs to collect data relevant to the effectiveness of the programs. It will then analyze the data, answer specific program questions and report its findings to all stakeholders.