Policy committee to reissue RFP for 2024 opioid-abatement funds; to pursue 2025 AG grant up to $900,000

Oklahoma County policy and governance committee members voted to move forward with a plan to reissue a request for proposals (RFP) to award the county’s 2024 Attorney General (AG) opioid-abatement grant allocation to a single qualified partner and to pursue the AG’s 2025 opioid-abatement grant application.

Jessica, County Manager, explained that the county had been awarded a 2024 AG opioid-abatement grant but that the original planned recipient at OU could not accept the funds. Staff presented two options: (A) reaward the exact 2024 amount to a single organization that can provide in-scope opioid-abatement services for perinatal and postpartum women, or (B) seek AG approval at the AG board meeting on May 15 to reallocate the funds to a different scope and open the award to a broader set of applicants. Jessica said staff recommended option A as the faster path to get funds into service.

Jessica identified the STAR Prenatal Clinic at the OU Health Sciences Center as a potential candidate staff has been preparing to contact; staff also said the AG’s office provided a list of possible recipients. Ashley, ARPA/ grants staff, described the proposed timeline: committee members would move to reject prior proposals at the Board of County Commissioners meeting and publish a new RFP as early as the following Thursday, leave the RFP open for roughly two weeks, and aim to have applications open by early May so the committee could evaluate and return recommendations in May. Staff said the goal would be to have a contract in place by June.

On the 2024 award amount, staff read the figure as approximately $299,813 (county staff provided the exact award amount during the meeting materials). Staff emphasized that the AG requires the county to award the full amount to a single recipient rather than split it among multiple groups because of compliance and tracking requirements; staff noted a potential approach of partnering with an intermediary organization that contracts with others, but said that adds complexity.

Committee members also approved staff’s plan to apply for the AG’s 2025 opioid-abatement grants. Jessica said application acceptance for the 2025 program begins May 12 and closes June 11; review by AG subcommittees would occur in June and July with funding recommendations presented July 31. Staff recommended applying for up to $900,000 (the transcript noted jurisdictions may apply for up to $900,000 individually and some entities as much as $1.2 million) and running an RFP to identify a partner for the county application.

The committee made and seconded motions to proceed with the RFP and application timelines described; both motions carried by voice vote. Staff said they will tabulate and circulate applications and provide a top-three recommendation to the committee ahead of the May meeting.