Oklahoma County panel recommends $900,000 opioid-abatement award to Diversion Hub

A County policy and governance panel on May 23 recommended awarding the county’s opioid abatement grant to the Oklahoma County Diversion Hub, advancing a three-year plan that county staff said would fund treatment, housing supports and peer services for people at high risk of opioid use.

Megan Taylor, executive director of Diversion Hub, told the panel the organization seeks the full $900,000 over three years. "This grant will serve those that are at risk of opioid use, those that are in active substance use disorders, streamlining access from those that are making contact with law enforcement, streamlining them to treatment services," Taylor said.

Taylor outlined the proposed subaward breakdown as described in Diversion Hub’s application: $300,000 to Red Rock to serve 50 uninsured individuals at a negotiated indigent DMH rate over three years; $200,000 to Homeless Alliance to serve 100 people over three years with a focus on housing and permanent placement; and $400,000 to Diversion Hub for peer support and case management expected to reach 600 people over three years. Taylor said the combined plan would provide up to 650 services with measures to avoid double-counting: "For homeless alliance, they will serve a hundred. So, of course, the peers will identify those individuals, work with them, do holistic case management, and then work with homeless alliance to house those individuals," she said.

Panel members asked about duplication and staffing. Taylor said the application would not supplant existing positions and that all positions funded by the grant would be new hires: "We're not supplanting in any of this grant application... All of what is indicated in this application is new," she said. Members also heard that Diversion Hub and its partners have federal grant experience, an annual audit schedule, and existing MOUs with some partners; Taylor said county oversight would include quarterly reporting to the attorney general’s office and routine subrecipient monitoring.

The panel’s motion "to recommend the award of the opioid abatement grant to the highest scoring applicant, the Oklahoma County Diversion Hub" was made on the record and seconded; the panel voted in favor. The committee’s recommendation will go to county leadership for final action and subaward contracting consistent with attorney general grant rules.

Why this matters: the opioid abatement funds are intended to expand treatment and housing supports for high-risk populations, including people diverted from arrest to community-based care and people experiencing homelessness who have substance use disorders. Panel documents showed 16 initial applications were received and that two finalists were forwarded to the clerk’s office for review; Diversion Hub was the top scorer and requested the full $900,000.

Hope is Alive, an applicant seeking $478,938 to expand school-based prevention in four schools (Edmond Memorial and three schools in Del City), also presented during the meeting. Anne Sandiger, senior development manager for Hope is Alive, confirmed the organization had a letter of support from Edmond Memorial and said outreach to other districts was ongoing. Hope is Alive did not receive the panel recommendation for the opioid abatement funds.

Next steps: the committee’s recommendation is advisory; final award and contracting must follow county procurement and the Attorney General’s grant requirements, including quarterly compliance reporting and subrecipient monitoring. The panel directed staff to send finalist applications to the clerk of the board for recordkeeping and to proceed with contract and compliance steps for the recommended subawards.