Public questions Clallam County plan to fund opioid 'gaps' report; critics urge independent review

Clallam County included an item on its consent agenda Sept. 30 to approve funds for an opioid gaps report; the item passed as part of the consent agenda. During general public comment, residents questioned whether the Health & Human Services (HHS) department is the appropriate entity to conduct the study.

A public commenter said HHS has a stake in the findings because it administers many of the services whose effectiveness the report would measure. "Expecting HHS to objectively measure the effectiveness of its own programs is like asking Big Tobacco to study whether smoking is harmful," the commenter said, urging the county to consider an independent department or a volunteer oversight committee to compile the data.

The commenter also noted historical reporting that HHS previously ran a public overdose dashboard and suggested the county should restore and maintain such public data resources. He asked why the county is allocating $25,000 for a study when prior data streams existed and could be updated.

County officials did not expand on the $25,000 request during general comment; the consent agenda item passed without discussion. Public commenters asked the board to consider independent oversight, transparent methodology and the restoration of public dashboards to ensure the study's objectivity and usefulness for policymaking.