The Lebanon County Commission on Drug and Alcohol presented and the county commissioners approved a $2,667,390 budget for fiscal year 2025–26 that relies heavily on federal grant dollars and opioid settlement funds to maintain treatment, prevention and prison-based medication-assisted treatment (MAT) programs.

Deputy director Sue (last name not specified in record) told the board the new budget represents a $112,435 (about 4.4%) increase over FY2024–25. She said the increase is largely driven by opioid settlement funding that will provide up to $455,000 this year to support three ongoing programs: MAT maintenance at the county jail (budgeted at $100,000), a part-time correctional officer to help administer MAT, and a dedicated adult probation position budgeted at $90,000.

In addition, the commission plans to use second-wave opioid settlement funds to start new initiatives including a $25,000-per-year outreach contract with the RAISE project, a MAT induction program budgeted at $150,000 per year for the next 13 years to initiate medications during incarceration, and a $60,000 annual prevention specialist contract with CompassMark to sustain school-based prevention work.

Officials said prevention-contract funding from other sources has been flat for many years; the commission reduced some prevention contract amounts this year to reflect only the funds that are certain at budgeting time. The commission also reported a decline in available state grant funding for crisis intervention and said those intervention dollars were reduced from prior years.

The commission’s presentation noted the end of a five-year grant agreement with the state Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) on June 30 and that a new five-year agreement is under legal review with a proposed start date of Jan. 1, 2026. Commissioners were told that no new FY2025–26 contracts would be presented until the new grant agreement is finalized, and that current provider rates were extended for six months.

The deputy director also reported three overdose deaths in the first quarter of 2025; she said the office is awaiting second-quarter data.

Commissioners approved the FY2025–26 budget by voice vote. The commission did not request additional county general-fund support for the coming year and said most revenue in the budget is federal. Commissioners asked staff to continue monitoring provider needs and settlement-fund availability and to return with contract details once the new state grant language is finalized.