Reno County approves $100,000 grant recommendation to MiR from opioid-settlement funds to speed treatment access

Reno County commissioners voted to accept a recommendation from the county’s opioid settlement funds advisory/oversight committee to fund a MiR program with $100,000 to shorten the time from outreach to placement into treatment.

Candice Davidson of the Reno County Health Department told the commission the settlement proceeds are being distributed over 18 years; Kansas is retaining 75% for statewide initiatives (held and administered by the Sunflower Foundation) while roughly 25% is allocated directly to cities and counties by population. The advisory committee prioritized evidence-based abatement strategies — including expanding access to naloxone, medication-assisted treatment and warm-handoff programs — and recommended local grant awards consistent with those rules.

Lieutenant Graber and committee members described MiR’s proposal as a treatment-focused, referral-and-transport model intended to get people into care within about 72 hours. Commissioners pressed staff about whether the recommended $100,000 would pay for fixed facilities; staff and the MiR representative said the funds are intended to cover treatment services and client access (transportation and service costs), not the purchase or construction of a building.

The advisory board conditioned the recommendation to ensure referrals would come from multiple local sources rather than one provider; committee members said they rejected the original MiR proposal that had limited referrals to New Beginnings and required MiR to accept referrals from hospitals, Horizons and other local agencies.

A motion to approve the advisory committee’s recommendation passed by roll call. Commissioners recorded their votes during the meeting. The county will administer awards and monitoring through the health department and the advisory board to ensure compliance with the settlement’s evidence-based and equity-focused parameters.

Next steps: staff will execute grant documents and monitor MiR’s performance against the committee’s conditions and Reno County-focused referral requirements.