- Michigan has begun receiving its share of $1.6 billion from the national opioid settlement, half of which is going to local governments.
- Much of that money remains unspent in county accounts.
- Nearly 3,000 Michiganders died from overdoses last year
Half of Michigan’s counties have yet to spend a dime of life-saving opioid funds, nearly a year and a half after they began receiving tens of millions of dollars to combat the epidemic.
A survey released Friday by the Michigan Association of Counties found that fewer than half of the 64 counties that responded had a plan to ensure funds reached those most deeply affected by the crisis. One-third of counties have not involved community groups or people recovering from addiction in their planning.
Every day without spending money is another day of overdose, said Mike Hirst, who founded a nonprofit that inspired a Jackson recovery housing project, Andy’s Place. It is named after his son, who died of a heroin overdose in 2010.
“When you’re faced with a problem like this, you don’t have a lot of patience because every day that that expense isn’t made, someone dies,” Hirst said.
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The survey results highlight the growing divide between advocates frustrated by the slow rollout of financial support and state and local officials who believe months of planning and meetings will lead to better long-term results.
“Because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, they’re trying to figure out how to manage careful planning while also understanding the urgency of the crisis,” said Amy Dolinky, technical advisor for the Michigan Association of Counties who conducted the survey.
The state is not tracking what will eventually amount to more than $700 million in local opioid settlement funds, making the association’s survey the most comprehensive look yet at the pace at which counties are spending those dollars. .
Over 18 years, Michigan will receive about $1.6 billion in funding from settlements with manufacturers, distributors and pharmacies that played a role in expanding opioid use.
About half of the funds go directly to counties, cities and townships, and the rest is sent to the state, which can use the funds as it chooses to fight the crisis.
By the end of 2023, Michigan had raised $181 million, of which $67 million went to local governments.
Bridge reported in February that officials in Michigan counties, cities and townships have struggled to decide how best to spend their opioid funds, to the exasperation of service providers.
Bridge could not at the time tally how much had been spent, but groups such as the Michigan Association of Counties said they believed fewer than half of the counties had spent funds yet.
The new survey, which includes responses from about 75% of Michigan’s 83 counties, confirms that assumption.
Among other findings from the survey:
- One-third of counties have a plan to spend opioid settlement funds, compared to just 4% in a similar survey last year; 23% have not even started a planning process, compared to 47% last year.
- Among counties that have distributed some of their funds, the most common spending was for prevention and treatment services, and expanded access to naloxone, a medication that reverses opioid overdoses.
- Only two counties reported spending all of the settlement funds they received in 2023.
- Less than half of counties, 48%, have publicly accessible information on spending on opioid settlements.
Advocates hope this unprecedented windfall will be a turning point in a decades-long fight against opioids, which kill nearly 3,000 Michigan residents a year, more than car accidents and firearms combined.
Opioids, including heroin and synthetic drugs such as fentanyl, are the cause of 80% of drug deaths in the state, and one Michigander dies from an opioid-related overdose every four hours.
“People need help, yesterday,” Laura Rousseau, president of Face Addiction Now of Northwest Wayne, formerly Families Against Narcotics of Northwest Wayne, told Bridge Michigan in March after a meeting with Attorney General Dana Nessel.
Dolinky, of the county group, defended governments’ cautious approach to spending money ranging from a total of $23,000 for Keweenaw County to $71 million flowing into Wayne County coffers.
“Hopefully the initial delay in spending will be (offset) by dollars that are spent responsibly and directed to those most affected by the crisis,” Dolinky said.
An example of cautious spending is Ogemaw County in northern Michigan.
The county has received about $800,000 so far of the $3.7 million it is expected to receive over the course of 18 years of payments. County Administrator Tim Dolehanty told Bridge Michigan that the county has spent about $30,000 so far, which is less than 4% of the settlement funds it has in the bank.
The country has transferred about $20,000 to an anti-drug task force led by local police, and about $10,000 for defibrillators.
“I hope the planning process will be completed this summer and we can start providing more (funding) for services,” Dolehanty said.
“Opioid dollars are intended to clean up the mess created by people on the other side of these settlements,” he said, “so it’s important not to spend money on things that aren’t useful.
“I just want to make sure we don’t regret it.”
Washtenaw County will have $4 million in opioid settlement funds available by the end of 2024 and has not yet spent any. County Health Officer Jimena Loveluck said the county formed a steering committee this year to conduct a needs assessment.
“Given the level of funding available, it is important to ensure that funds are used in a way that most effectively addresses local needs and that those priorities are identified through the participation of community members and people with expertise lived,” Loveluck told Bridge. in a written statement. “This comprehensive needs assessment process takes time, but will ensure that all voices are heard.”
Planning that drags on for more than a year is frustrating when spending needs have “accelerated,” said Rousseau, of the group Face Addiction Now.
Among the greatest needs, Rousseau told Bridge, are clean, safe housing for people in early recovery, Narcan, needle exchange programs and other harm reduction efforts. And there is a desperate need for peer recovery coaches: people in recovery who will help others get there.
In March, Rousseau was in a meeting with Nessel in Canton, where Nessel planned to highlight how Wayne County providers were spending opioid settlement dollars.
Suppliers have no success stories to tell. They told Nessel they were still waiting for those funds.
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