The Virginia Opioid Abatement Authority (OAA) Grants Committee unanimously approved staff-recommended amendments to the 2024–25 state-agency awards and a block of awards for the 2025–26 performance period during a virtual meeting, Chair Sarah Thomason said.

The action follows a staff presentation that summarized proposals submitted by 18 state agencies. Charlie Linnecumbe, OAA director of operations, told the committee the office received 43 proposals in this cycle — 30 renewals and 13 new projects — that included roughly $1.75 million in carryforward requests and nearly $16 million in new funding requests across the 2025–26 performance period.

The approvals adopt staff recommendations that would draw from a $9.4 million approved state-agency budget and an unrestricted OAA budget of $20.6 million. Linnecumbe told the committee staff recommended about $9.38 million from the state-agency bucket and about $4.68 million from unrestricted funds, for a combined recommended award total just over $14 million. He said the unrestricted budget has $6.3 million remaining after allocations made in June for city and county awards, Operation STOP and administration.

Why it matters: The awards target a range of opioid-related services across the Commonwealth, including harm reduction sites, naloxone distribution, recovery workforce development and court-related reentry supports. Many of the recommended projects are renewals; staff recommended using unrestricted funds primarily for short-term pilots or one-time projects.

Key recommendations and developments cited in the presentation included:
- Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services: renewals for substance-use data analysis and judicial substance use training programs, and a second year of funding for the Virginia Recovery Corps project to train and stipend people with lived recovery experience, with matching federal funds expected to leverage OAA dollars. Linnecumbe said the Recovery Corps project as presented would support certified peer recovery work and that the award would allow the Corps to draw additional federal matching funds.

- Department of Corrections: renewal and expansion of substance-use-disorder social worker positions in DOC facilities and a pilot naloxone-dispensing-box program for six probation districts (two boxes per district). Linnecumbe said one DOC proposal — reentry wellness kits — was not recommended because of budget constraints.

- Department of Education: renewal of the opioid education coordination project and a recommended $518,700 award from unrestricted funds to establish a Virginia Recovery Schools Technical Assistance Grant Program. Linnecumbe said the program would provide technical guidance and financial resources to existing recovery high schools but would not create additional schools.

- Virginia Department of Health (VDH): a recommended $3.2 million in awards across multiple VDH projects, including renewals for comprehensive harm reduction site expansion, naloxone distribution infrastructure and local opioid-use-disorder coordinator positions. Linnecumbe said the committee required that VDH demonstrate use or encumbrance of other naloxone funding before OAA funds would be released for naloxone purchase.

- Other recipients and pilots: recommended awards or renewals for DMAS (discharge-bridge technical assistance and hospital capacity grants), DSS (kinship-care navigators and a 2-1-1 opioid registry integration), universities for pilot MOUD warm lines and campus recovery programs (George Mason, Radford, Mary Washington, UVA, VCU, VCU Massey Cancer Center, Virginia Tech/Cooperative Extension, Virginia State University), the Virginia Indigent Defense Commission (peer navigators in public defender offices), and the Office of the Attorney General (opioid and fentanyl prevention campaign).

Committee action and votes: The Grants Committee approved two separate block motions on staff recommendations: (1) amendments to current-year (2024–25) state agency awards and (2) renewals, amendments and new project awards for the 2025–26 performance period. Both motions were moved by Tim Spencer, seconded by Delegate Brianna Sewell and passed unanimously with no recorded opposition or abstentions.

Chair Sarah Thomason thanked staff for the packet and presentation. "I am very proud of OAA and our transparency," Thomason said, noting materials were posted on the OAA website and attached to the Commonwealth calendar so the public could review the staff package in advance.

The committee does not expect widespread implementation delays for the awards described; Linnecumbe said MOUs for the 2024–25 performance period had been completed and funds transferred and that OAA will begin work on 2025–26 MOUs based on the Grants Committee actions at this meeting. The next Grants Committee meeting is scheduled for Sept. 26 at 2 p.m. in Farmville at the Prince Edward Rescue Squad building, where staff expects to consider amendments and some remaining city/county awards.

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