Sedgwick County and Wichita briefed on $15.5 million opioid settlement strategic plan; governance, allocations left to elected leaders

Stedman Group consultants presented a draft strategic plan on Feb. (date not specified) to Sedgwick County staff and commissioners outlining how the combined City of Wichita and Sedgwick County local share of opioid settlement funds—currently estimated at about $15,500,000 over the settlement period—could be spent.

The presentation said the plan was developed by the Wichita‑Sedgwick Opioid Settlement Consortium (WSOSC), a group of local subject‑matter experts convened under a November 2023 contract with Stedman. "The work we're presenting to you today is the product of the efforts of the consortium," Stedman senior consultant Rhiannon Strait said during the briefing.

The consultants described the settlement architecture and limits. National settlements provide an Exhibit E that lists allowable and unallowable uses; Stedman emphasized that funds may not be used to supplant existing funding and listed specific unallowable purchases such as police vehicles and weapons. Rhiannon Strait said the statewide share of settlements (about 75 percent of the Kansas settlement) is being administered separately and that the local 25 percent municipal bucket is the focus of the city‑county planning work.

The strategic plan centers on four strategies: stigma reduction and community outreach/education; integrated care (coordinating medical, behavioral‑health and social supports); overdose prevention and harm reduction; and expansion of treatment…