Human Service Agency asks county to allocate $35,000 in opioid settlement funds for medication-assisted treatment

Carrie Johnston, executive director of the Human Service Agency, asked Codington County commissioners to consider using county-allocated opioid settlement funds to support the agency’s medication-assisted treatment (MAT) program.

Johnston told commissioners that the settlement dollars are distributed through the state to counties and cities and that Codington County has an allocation available. She requested $35,000 to help fund MAT services, saying the money would address costs that are not always covered by insurance or other prescription-assistance programs and would help offset billing limitations when multiple providers are involved in a single client visit. Johnston described the agency’s MAT program as an integrated model in which a drug-and-alcohol counselor and the program prescriber see clients regularly; she said the agency currently has 16 people on the MAT program who receive weekly services and that intake slots are available.

Johnston also described the agency’s use of injectable Sublocade (an extended-release buprenorphine formulation) and noted that the injection is more expensive — she cited a cost “over $2,000” — but can be effective because it is administered as an injection on a monthly schedule. She asked the commissioners to add the funding request to a future agenda for formal consideration. Commissioners agreed to place the request on a future meeting agenda and to explore how it could be aligned with other county efforts addressing reentry and recovery.

Johnston said the agency would accept clients immediately if funding and staff capacity permit and that the program includes regular medication counts and counseling to reduce diversion risk. The transcript records no formal appropriation at the Oct. 7 meeting; commissioners agreed to a follow-up agenda item.