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Kansas fights addiction board reports nearly $14.7 million in new awards for treatment, prevention and naloxone distribution
Summary
Jason Hess, BSRB deputy and board designee to the Kansas Fights Addiction Grant Review Board, said the review board approved about $14.7 million in one-year grants for treatment, prevention and first-responder activities and is funding a statewide needs assessment to guide future allocation.
Jason Hess, serving as the Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board’s deputy to the Kansas Fights Addiction (KFA) Grant Review Board, updated the BSRB about KFA grant decisions and planning to target settlement funds from opioid litigation.
Hess said the review board recently completed a second round of grant approvals and "got done approving, roughly, give or take $14,700,000 in funding for both treatment and prevention for this next year," describing the awards as one‑year grants that will support treatment, prevention and first-responder activities across the state.
He said earlier rounds of KFA funding distributed roughly $6 million for treatment to about 35 organizations and over $4 million for prevention to roughly 24 organizations. Hess said the initial rounds of grants touched just under 80,000 people statewide, added 28 residential treatment beds and distributed about 4,600 naloxone kits.
Hess described grant uses that will continue: funding medication‑assisted treatment slots, recovery houses, recovery centers, transportation and care coordination. He said the board entered an agreement with a university center to conduct a statewide needs assessment; he expects that report within the first three months of the calendar year and said the assessment will inform more strategic, potentially multi‑year investments.
Hess outlined the long-term scale of settlement funds from opioid litigation, saying Kansas could expect roughly $350 million over the next 15 years, with 25% directed to municipalities and counties; however, he added the final totals remain subject to unresolved lawsuits.
Board members asked about prevention activities funded in the most recent round; Hess said the awards included first‑responder naloxone distribution, mobile units and education programs including school outreach. He advised board members to consult the Sunflower Foundation website, the nonprofit partner administering grants, for full award lists and contract details.
Hess closed by asking board members to contact him with questions; he said upcoming KFA meetings would focus on how to use the needs assessment to shape multi‑year programming and emphasize access in rural areas where services may be hours from patients’ homes.
