Warren County’s Health Services Committee advanced contracts drawing on opioid settlement funds for community proposals and accepted a separate state aid award to reimburse jail medication costs for opioid use disorder.

Nut graf: The county received multiple requests for opioid settlement money and has limited funds; the committee prioritized certain community proposals for contracts while leaving other requests (including a sheriff’s office project) to be drawn down through departmental budget amendments.

Opioid settlement proposals: Health staff said the county solicited proposals through the Community Services Board and received 11 (possibly 12) submissions requesting about $1.6 million; county staff said the county has ‘‘a little shy of $1,000,000’’ available to distribute. Staff presented contracts totaling roughly $340,000 for four (of five) projects they recommended moving forward; the fifth project was from the sheriff’s office and was discussed separately.

Sheriff’s office and law enforcement training: The sheriff’s office proposed an opioid‑related police training project working with a training provider (referred to as Z School). Staff reported the Community Services Board had voted to approve that project but suggested the sheriff’s office could draw down funds through a budget amendment because it is a county department. Committee members confirmed Sheriff Lafar was aware of the approach; staff listed that item as a discussion item to be handled via the sheriff’s budget.

State OASIS funds for jail medications: The committee approved an amendment to the 2025 county budget to accept $7,280 from New York State OASIS to pay for naltrexone and buprenorphine for incarcerated individuals with opioid use disorder. Staff said the state made the program effective July 1 and that going forward annual funding would be approximately $14,000 per year for a 2‑year period; staff characterized the award as 100% state aid to offset county costs.

Discussion included ethical and practical questions from supervisors about the county providing medication to incarcerated people. One supervisor asked what would happen if the county did not provide treatment; staff noted the sheriff’s contracted medical provider (PrimeCare) already provides medical and substance use services in the jail and that failing to treat identified medical issues could be questioned ethically. Another supervisor compared the issue to other medical treatments noting differences in withdrawal risks between opioids and other substances.

Action: Committee voted to move the selected opioid settlement contracts to the floor (motion by Supervisor Wilde, second by Supervisor Runyon) and approved the OASIS budget amendment (motions and votes recorded by voice). Staff reported the Community Services Board’s ad hoc committee recommendations and will proceed with contracting and departmental budget amendments as discussed.

Ending: Staff said some proposals requested multi‑year funding (1–3 years) and that full funding requests cannot be met; they will work to allocate available funds across projects and will present contract details and budget amendments for approved projects.