City planning new overdose prevention division funded by restitution settlement; 25 positions proposed

Deputy Commissioner Jennifer Martin said Baltimore’s health department and the Mayor’s Office developed a five‑year infrastructure plan tied to recently allocated opioid restitution funds and that the plan includes creating a new division focused on public behavioral health and overdose prevention.

"We are creating a new division," Martin said, and described hires that will include a deputy commissioner to lead the division, a director of overdose prevention strategy and policy, epidemiologists and planning support to augment data and analytics capacity. The team will support the needs assessment and strategic plan directed by the mayor’s executive order and work with the Mayor’s Office of Overdose Response and the Restitution Advisory Board.

Sarah Whaley, executive director of the Mayor’s Office of Overdose Response, said input from the BCHD needs assessment will feed the city’s strategic plan and that the office is exploring local actions to improve the quality and transparency of recovery and treatment options. Whaley told the committee that restitution funds include allocations for 24/7 outreach and public awareness, and that the strategic plan will include public engagement opportunities.

Commissioners and council members asked for detail on the 25 new positions and for a clearer description of how the new division will coordinate with existing services and community partners. Martin said some of the new positions will also be placed in other agency divisions — for example in aging and maternal and child health — to take a life‑course approach and ensure programming reaches pre‑ and postnatal populations, youth and older adults.

The department said it will report additional implementation details, including specific job descriptions and how the new staffing will support overdose stat, the mayor’s overdose cabinet and other interagency efforts.