Opioid Settlement Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

First Round Of W.Va. Opioid Settlement Grants Announced

The West Virginia First Foundation (WVFF), responsible for dispersing West Virginia’s opioid settlement money, announced the recipients of its first grant cycle Monday.

More than $10 million in Initial Opportunity Grants (IOG) will be distributed to fund 38 projects across the state. The foundation approved $19.2 million for IOGs during its Sept. 5 meeting and reported receiving nearly 200 applications by the October deadline.

The foundation is tasked with distributing 72.5 percent of the opioid settlement funds. Three percent goes directly to the State of West Virginia and 24.5 percent goes directly to West Virginia local governments. West Virginia is expected to receive about $1 billion in total after all its opioid settlement lawsuits are paid out.

“While we committed to announcing awardees before the end of the year, we felt it was important to share this good news ahead of the holiday season,” WVFF Chairman Matthew Harvey said in a press release. “The holidays can be a challenging time for many, and we hope this announcement reinforces a message of hope, recovery, and progress for West Virginia communities.”

Grants were split into four target areas: diversion & interdiction programs, youth prevention & workforce development, child advocacy centers and transitional and recovery housing expansion.

Diversion and interdiction programs account for the largest portion of the grants with more than $3 million dollars across 10 projects. Diversion programs help people arrested for drug use avoid conviction and incarceration by diverting them to treatment options instead, while interdiction programs work to prevent illicit drugs from reaching their destinations.

Child advocacy centers accounted for 10 projects and just under $2.5 million in grants, including the largest single grant: $720,000 for the expansion of the North Star Child Advocacy Center in Parkersburg.

Youth prevention & workforce development had the highest number of individual grants but the lowest total amount of money awarded with just more than $2 million spread across 11 projects.

Three organizations were awarded two grants each. The Jackson County Health Department/Board of Health received $192,000 for their Quick Response Teams, as well as $112,500 for the Jackson County Anti-Drug Coalition for a total of $304,500. Quick response teams identify individuals who have overdosed within 24 to 72 hours, and follow up with them to connect them to resources.

The Mission West Virginia, Inc., a Hurricane-based nonprofit working to promote foster families and youth support systems, received more than $366,000 for its “The Bridge” mentorship program across two grants.

Seed Sower, Inc. of Fayette County received more than $400,000 for a project to expand access to workforce opportunities and supportive structures in southern West Virginia, and an additional $118,000 for “housing and supports for women, including pregnant and parenting women in recovery and their infant children.”

As part of the announcement of recipients, WVFF reiterated they will hold a Supplemental Round for the remaining $8.8 million of the initially proposed $19.2 million Initial Opportunity Grant monies, available to organizations that applied by the Oct. 5 deadline.

“The opioid crisis continues to be a profound challenge for our state, and these funds represent a crucial step in addressing the epidemic with both urgency and care,” Jonathan Board, WVFF executive director, said in a press release. “We’re proud to celebrate the incredible work of our awardees and to support them in creating measurable, sustainable change. At the same time, the Supplemental Round allows us to extend opportunities for even greater impact.”

First Foundation Offers Another Chance For Prevention And Recovery Grants

The foundation responsible for distributing West Virginia’s opioid settlement funds is giving applicants a second chance to obtain funding to fight the state’s drug epidemic.

Updated on Friday, Dec. 13, 2024 at 4 p.m.

The foundation responsible for distributing West Virginia’s opioid settlement funds is giving applicants a second chance to obtain funding to fight the state’s drug epidemic.

Of the 174 applications received, the West Virginia First Foundation approved awards amounting to $10.4 million in Initial Opportunity Grants at its annual meeting on Thursday, Dec. 12.

“Each applicant will be hearing from us, those that are approved,” Jonathan Board, the Foundation’s executive director said. “They’ll be hearing from us individually. They will have an agreement to go through and confirm, and once that is conducted, certainly we will notify the public and everyone else of that acceptance and are just very excited.”

While the application period for the Foundation’s first grant cycle ended on Oct. 5, the Foundation will hold a “supplemental round” for applicants who met the deadline but were not awarded funding.

“This would give those applicants who maybe were just short, an opportunity to cure their application,” Board said. “If they were, for example, missing articles of incorporation, they could make sure that, that was sorted.”

The Foundation allotted $19.2 million to this grant cycle in September. During the supplemental round, the foundation will work with applicants to award the remaining $8.8 million, reaching its original goal for this grant cycle.

The 2024 Initial Opportunity Grants focused on four target areas that were identified by the Initial Opportunity Committee, formed during August’s board meeting. Those four areas are considered critical in the fight against the opioid crisis and are prioritized for funding.

The 2024 Initial Opportunity Grants focused on four areas deemed critical in the fight against the opioid crisis: diversion and interdiction programs, youth prevention and workforce development, child advocacy centers and PPW (Pregnant and Postpartum Women) Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) programs, and transitional/recovery housing expansion.

In an email, Danin Cather, the Foundation’s chief marketing officer said details on individual awardees will be provided in the coming weeks after all required paperwork has been signed and awardees have formally accepted.

“The applications for the Initial Opportunity Grants went through a rigorous review process by the Initial Opportunity Committee and Expert Panel, using a detailed scoring rubric that was outlined in the application process,” Cather wrote. “The recommendations from these reviews were presented to the Board, and the Board voted on the total funding amounts to allocate to each target area.

During the annual meeting, board Treasurer, Jeff Sandy presented the Foundation’s most up-to-date financial information.

“This is for the period ending Nov. 30, 2024,” Sandy said. “The income to-date from the First Foundation’s investments is $10,163,387.37. The expenses to date (are) $1,250,039.30. Funds that are available to the Foundation are $226,413,248.07.”

The board voted to approve and publish the financial report ending on Nov. 30, 2024, to its website within 24 hours.

West Virginia is expected to receive about $1 billion after all its opioid settlement lawsuits are paid out.

The board also elected officers for 2025. Those elected were:

● Chair: Matthew Harvey
● Vice-Chair: Dr. Matthew Christiansen
● Treasurer: Jeff Sandy
● Secretary: Dora Stutler

**Editor’s Note: This story was updated to include the West Virginia First Foundation’s November 2024 Financial Report.

Opioid Settlement Foundation Commits $20 Million To New Program

The organization responsible for West Virginia’s opioid settlement money committed $20 million to an outcomes-based addiction recovery project.

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.

Opioid Settlement Funds Recovery Efforts And Debating A Safer Kentucky

On this West Virginia Morning, there have been a number of initiatives to address homelessness across our region, including imposing camping bans in cities and towns. Across the border in Kentucky, new anti-crime laws are beefing up the consequences for gun and drug crimes which some worry could put more people experiencing homelessness behind bars.

Us & Them host Trey Kay spoke to advocates and lawyers with opposing views on Kentucky’s 2023 Safer Kentucky Act about the outcomes of its implementation so far.

Plus, the organization responsible for West Virginia’s opioid settlement money committed $20 million to an outcomes-based addiction recovery project in a special meeting of the board on Monday, Dec. 9.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University and Marshall University School of Journalism and Mass Communications.

Eric Douglas produced this episode.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning

Martinsburg Panel Outlines Goals For Opioid Settlement Fund Distribution

Representatives with the West Virginia First Foundation — a nonprofit the state tasked with distributing roughly three-quarters of West Virginia’s opioid settlement payments — traveled to Martinsburg this week to voice their vision for disbursing the funds.

The Stubblefield Institute for Civil Politics, an affiliate of Shepherd University, hosted the Thursday evening panel. West Virginia First Foundation Executive Director Jonathan Board told attendees that the foundation aims to be transparent, with funds targeting different aspects of recovery, from individual to community-level interventions.

“We understand where this money comes from,” he said. “We understand the gravity of this and that every dollar, every every dime, every penny we have represents those loved ones that aren’t with us anymore.”

Speakers at the panel said the organization’s founding guidelines promote transparency, requiring them to report where funds are distributed. Roughly one-quarter of the state’s settlement money goes directly to county governments, which they said helps broaden the geographic extent of support.

These reporting and distribution guidelines also have “an effect on making sure that those monies are going for appropriate uses,” said Matthew Harvey, West Virginia First Foundation chair and prosecuting attorney for Jefferson County.

Tim Czaja, a regional director of the West Virginia First Foundation and the Berkeley County community corrections director, said the foundation also sees a need for public education on substance use disorder and recovery.

He cited pushback from state lawmakers against needle exchange programs as an example of misunderstanding that can harm the recovery process.

“I think providing some education to the legislature over time would be really valuable,” he said.

Panelists agreed that engaging with community leaders and members of the public would remain central to their funding distribution efforts.

The West Virginia First Foundation was legally recognized by the state in 2023. By next month, the foundation will award its first round of funding to diversion and recovery programs statewide, totaling millions of dollars.

To listen to the full forum online, visit the Panhandle News Network’s Spotify page.

First Foundation Receives Nearly 200 Applications During First Grant Cycle

Nearly 200 organizations applied for opioid settlement money from the first round of funding from the foundation responsible for its distribution.

The board of the foundation responsible for distributing West Virginia’s opioid settlement funds met Thursday to discuss its first grant cycle and hiring of staff.

Treasurer Jeff Sandy reported a balance of $225,683,388.71 as of September 30, 2024. The Foundation has earned $8,912,258.29 from investments of its initial settlement funds in the past year.

According to Sandy, the board’s September expenses were $80,942.55. The board approved the financial report and its publication on the West Virginia First Foundation’s (WVFF) website.

Governor-appointed board member representing Region 2 and Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney Matthew Harvey serves as chair of the board.

He explained that the board will no longer be taking questions from the media and public during their monthly virtual meetings, citing privacy concerns.

“We’re going to again request that all questions for today’s meeting be submitted by email, and responses will be provided rapidly,” Harvey said. “We want to make sure that we’re fair and equitable to all the grant seekers in order to do that and out of an abundance of caution and to be thoughtful and thorough.”

Executive Director, Jonathan Board highlighted the completion of the Initial Opportunity Grants (IOG) application cycle, with 174 applications received, primarily in youth prevention and workforce development.

The target areas for the IOG were diversion programs, which help people arrested for drug use avoid conviction and incarceration by diverting them to treatment options instead, and interdiction programs, which work to prevent illicit drugs from reaching their destinations.

Target areas also included youth prevention and workforce development, child advocacy centers, neonatal abstinence programs and transitional and recovery housing expansion.

“It has been a lot of late nights and a lot of early mornings and a lot of just pulling 24 hours to get this out the door,” Board said. “As you know, we just closed the deadline there on those applications this past Saturday, and (we are) very excited, we were performing intake review on the applications to determine compliance of the requirements of the IOG application.”

Board reported the majority of applications came from Region 4 which includes county and local governments in Monongalia, Braxton, Lewis, Harrison, Marion, Preston, Taylor, Tucker, Barbour, Randolph, Gilmer, Doddridge and Upshur counties.

Applications were due on October 5, 2024 by 11:59 p.m. and Board said they were receiving applications until the last moment.

“We’re very excited to go through those,” Board said. “So the intake process is occurring right now, and that is an objective standard.”

Applications will be reviewed by the Interim Grant Committee and the Expert Panel. Final approval will be made by the Board of Directors.

“If those items were submitted in their complete application that goes into a specific folder, both by region and by target area,” Board explained. “Those will then be presented to those who are assigned to score, both from the IOG and, of course, all of our expert panelists that we use the scoring rubric that was established in the application that will then be taken by target area. Those highest scoring will go forward onto the board of directors, and again, we’ll apply that conflict policy throughout the process, and then it gets up to the board of directors to review and score.”

Awards will be announced on or before Dec. 31. Grantees will first receive 40 percent of their total allotment up front, then file financial statements with the foundation documenting the use of the funds to receive three more installments of 20 percent of the allotment to complete the award.

The WVFF board approved $19.2 million in IOG during its meeting on Sept. 5. That is about 8.5 percent of the funds the foundation currently holds, according to its July financial statement. West Virginia is expected to receive about $1 billion after all its opioid settlement lawsuits are paid out.

Board highlighted the Foundation’s commitment to avoiding conflict of interest during the IOG or future grant cycles.

“Board members shall not be permitted to participate in the Iog application process,” Board said. “If there’s a direct or indirect conflict of interest, any member of the board whose organization is responding to an IOG application has to fully recuse themselves and be removed from the process and not participate in any review scoring or vote in the target area or areas in which they apply.”

Board also introduced the Foundation’s new employees.

Chief of Staff, Jessicah Cross has been with the Foundation for three weeks and previously worked for the U.S. Senate.

Director of Operations, Rachel Thaxton, is in her second week at the Foundation and previously worked as the interim and assistant director of the West Virginia Office of Drug Control Policy.

“As the foundation’s sole employee for the past three and a half, four months, I can’t tell you how wonderful it is to have some folks standing alongside and especially of this, this acumen and wisdom,” Board said.

Board said he expects all hiring to be complete by mid-November. The foundation meets the first Thursday of each month, subject to change. Updates are posted on the foundation’s website.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Marshall Health.