Opioid Settlement Foundation Commits $20 Million To New Program

In a special meeting of the West Virginia First Foundation (WVFF), the nonprofit’s board approved $20 million for the Appalachian Continuum of Care for Overdose Reduction Network (ACCORN) project.

While the board approved the $20 million commitment, a Monday afternoon press release clarified that WVFF must submit a formal application to the federal government for approval and funding. Final decisions are expected in early 2025.

This allocation is not part of the foundation’s Initial Opportunity Grant cycle, which was approved in September with a total of $19.2 million available in funding.That money will be sent to communities and organizations that apply for the money. 

Executive Director Jonathan Board said while working through those grant applications, the foundation discovered other programs that might help fight the opioid epidemic.

“These things were happening all sort of concurrently, along with our Initial Opportunity Grants process, and we’re excited to have an opportunity to discuss one of these that has gone through this process here today,” Board said.

Dr. Matthew Christiansen, Region Four representative and state health officer, presented the financial structure of the ACCORN project to the board.

“It’s outcomes-based,” Christiansen said. “We wouldn’t pay unless they meet the measures on the front end. This is not money that goes out the door without accountability.”

Board told the WVFF board the ACCORN project has three measures it will focus on to improve outcomes to qualify to receive ARPA-H HEROES funding.

The first measure aims to reduce the number of infants born exposed to illicit drugs in West Virginia, called neonatal abstinence syndrome, also known as NAS.

West Virginia leads the nation in rates of infants born with NAS, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), with 68 out of every 1,000 babies born in the state exposed to drugs in 2020.

The criteria for payment by the state will be a 10 percent reduction in rates of NAS after year two and a 15 percent reduction after year three.

The second measure aims to reduce the state’s rate of recidivism, the tendency for an offender to relapse into criminal behavior after their release from custody.

According to the most recent available data from West Virginia’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in 2020, West Virginia’s recidivism rate was 29.25 percent over a three-year period.

In a 2020 press release, DHS said among all the individuals released in 2016, nearly 21 percent had been convicted of drug-related offenses and their recidivism rate was 24 percent.

Jeff Sandy, former cabinet secretary of the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security and WVFF board member, said during Monday’s virtual meeting he is hopeful the ACCORN project will bring rates of recidivism down.

“I stress the importance of trying to do something to make life better for our convicted individuals in the state who have served their time and they’ve come out and they need help,” Sandy said. “They need help so they do not go back to their future ways, and this program has a branch of it that is designed to help those individuals who, when they get out of prison, they need support.”

The third and final measure requires participants in any ACCORN-funded program to be drug-screened twice per month.
The foundation’s most recent financial statement available on the website is from Oct. 31 and reflects a balance of about $226 million in the account.