Agenda Item Request
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Approve the use of the County’s Opioid Settlement funds for Cumberland County Public Health prevention pilot project.
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Background and Purpose of Request
The County also receives about $200,000 a year in opioid settlement funds that up until now have been mostly used for coordination and interventions on the harm reduction, treatment and recovery side of the problem. CCPH staff have done incredible prevention work across the county by partnering with schools, recreation departments, community-based organizations, parent groups, healthcare providers, and many more, to implement evidenced based strategies. Yet prevention gaps remain. A primary prevention gap identified in Cumberland County Public Health’s 2023-2027 Assessment and Action Plan for the Opioid Settlement Fund is “a scarcity of multi-tiered behavioral health and case management services for socially & emotional vulnerable children and families, impacting whether and how children arrive at school.”
Over the past two years, a few Cumberland County Public Health prevention staff have been planning and concept testing a pilot project focused on middle school aged children who have been impacted by opioids with the goal of increasing the presence of protective factors and decreasing their risks for behavioral health problems. Being chronically absent from school has been identified as a key risk factor.
Responding to an urgent need to re-engage students and families in schools, CCPH proposes supporting school districts most impacted by opioid use to design a comprehensive Home Visiting program focused on building trusting relationships with families, breaking down barriers to attendance, and getting students back to school. This project would be funded by the County’s opioid settlement funding.
Please see the memo for more detailed information.
Funding Amount and Source
$105,000 in FY27. $265,000 from FY27-29
Effective Date
August 1, 2026
Attachments
• Memo on Cumberland County Public Health Opioid Settlement Prevention Project Summary and Budget