At a Sept. 2 work session, Jamie Michael of Dona Ana County Health and Human Services presented next steps for expenditure of opioid‑settlement funds, including a coordinated city‑county evaluation process, a pre‑proposal community workshop on Sept. 16 and plans to finalize and release a county RFP by October.

Michael told commissioners the county and city will release separate procurement documents but use the same criteria and a shared five‑member evaluation panel to score proposals. The county will encourage collaborative proposals aimed at new or expanded services rather than simply funding existing programs. Michael said the county hopes to bring contract awards to the boards for approval at the first meetings in January.

“We are hoping that we will have We have our first meeting about that this afternoon,” Michael said, describing internal work to finalize the scope of work and the RFP schedule. She said the county would keep RFPs open at least 30 days and use an evaluator under contract to collect baseline data, design measurement tools and provide periodic reports so the county and city can do continuous quality improvement on funded programs.

Michael said not all expenditures will flow through a single RFP. County staff funded under other state and federal programs will continue overdose education and Narcan distribution; some current contractors supporting a transitional housing project could receive expanded funding to serve residents of that housing.

Commissioners asked for clearer targeting, measurable outcomes and transparency. Commissioner Reynolds pressed for data to guide priorities and said the county should identify target populations (for example, ages with the highest overdose incidence) and anticipated outcomes so the public can see whether funds are used effectively. Michael said the advisory council and the earlier resolution nominate highest‑risk populations and that the county has budgeted funds for an evaluator to measure program performance.

Commissioner Sanchez asked why the county was holding a pre‑proposal workshop on Sept. 16 if the RFP scope was still being drafted; Michael responded that the scope of work and eight broad goals were sufficiently defined to organize speakers for the workshop and that technical drafting and procurement approvals would continue between Sept. 16 and the October target for the RFP release.

Michael said the county has put out an evaluation RFP and received about a dozen proposals; the evaluator will help set key performance indicators, collect baseline output and outcome data, analyze results and return reports to the boards and providers. Michael suggested initial reporting could focus on output measures (numbers served) at six months and include outcome reporting after a longer period when measurable effects are available.

No contract awards were made at the Sept. 2 meeting; Michael said staff expects to return with contracts and evaluation arrangements for board approval in January. Commissioners requested periodic status briefings and clear performance milestones tied to renewal decisions.