Franklin County allocates $1.26 million in opioid settlement funds to local programs

The Franklin County Commission approved Commission Order 2025‑61 to distribute $1,259,000 in opioid settlement funds among local agencies providing prevention, treatment and recovery services.

Jenny Armbruster, with PreventED and a member of the county’s opioid settlement committee, told the commission the committee has met since 2024 to coordinate funding and programming and that the settlement funds are intended to support a continuum of services from prevention through recovery. “We saw a lot of initial startup and success in the first year and are happy to continue that work under this order,” Armbruster said.

Under the order the funds were allocated as follows in the meeting packet: $102,276 for treatment court; $121,238 for PreventED; $20,000 for the Franklin County CRUSH Coalition; $89,100 for HOPE for Franklin County Coalition; and $47,000 for the St. Charles County Medical Examiner. Armbruster said each agency submitted a budget and the county will issue checks directly to the listed entities.

Commissioners confirmed the total and asked staff to clarify any small discrepancies that appeared between pages in the packet. The commission approved the distribution by voice vote; a named motion was offered by Commissioner Oberschmidt and seconded from the dais.

The commission recorded that the allocation is budgeted under existing county appropriations for opioid settlement funds and that the funding is intended for local prevention, treatment‑court support, public awareness and recovery linkage.