Atlantic County lays out $850,000 opioid-settlement plan, prioritizing treatment and case management

Atlantic County addiction-services staff presented a $850,000 plan for opioid-settlement funds to the Board of Commissioners on Feb. 18, outlining awards for case management, treatment and prevention and describing monitoring steps to ensure providers use the money for the purposes approved.

Brian Wilson, director of Addiction Services for Atlantic County, opened the presentation by describing local trends: “In 2022, we hit an all time high with over 255 suspected overdose deaths” in Atlantic County and “a little over 1,031 Narcan deployments” by first responders, he said. Wilson and Sharon Rogers, the county’s opioid-settlement coordinator, said the county convened a 30-member advisory committee in 2022 and later formed an operational Opiate Task Force that recommended funding priorities after a resident and provider survey.

The county’s plan divides $850,000 so the funds can be sustained over “the next 15 to 20 years,” Wilson said. The split is: 50% to treatment ($425,000), 40% to a single non-biased case-management provider ($340,000) — including an allowance to use up to…