County mental health board to use opioid‑settlement receipts for near‑term crisis response, staff say

Mental Health Board staff warned committee members that opioid‑settlement dollars arrive irregularly and should not be treated as a steady revenue stream for long‑term programming.

"When we budget our anticipated revenue for the settlement funds, I go with the known distributions that I get from the support from the state's attorney's office," fiscal operations manager Melanie Duran said, adding, "we know we're gonna get just under $74,000 in disbursements in '27." She said the board budgeted $159,000 for 2026 but had received $114,000 to date; staff also noted a receivable of about $4.7 million through 2038 from anticipated settlements.

Staff described a separate NOFA for opioid settlement funds that runs alongside the regular annual NOFA; about $600,000 in opioid‑settlement funding is included in the initial FY27 allocations and the board has retained $500,000 for a midyear or capital opportunity. The presenters emphasized that settlement money is intended for more immediate crisis responses rather than long‑term commitments and that recipients funded through opioid dollars are subject to the same audits and compliance reviews as other grantees.