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Board approves $383,700 opioid-settlement spending plan for FY26, funds peer support and treatment services
Summary
The board approved the Saving Lives Task Force’s recommended FY26 distribution of opioid-settlement funds, including continuing peer-support and recovery-court positions, naloxone/test-strip supplies, and support for detention-center services, after the task force reported public survey input.
Dare County commissioners on May 5 approved a proposed $383,700 allocation of opioid-settlement (Saving Lives Task Force) funds for fiscal 2026, supporting treatment, peer support, naloxone distribution, social-determinant services and jail-based programs.
Task force co-chairs presented a funding plan informed by a community survey of 368 respondents. The recommended FY26 package includes recurring support for a peer-support specialist and a recovery-court coordinator (positions the task force has previously funded), naloxone and test-strip supplies for community distribution, transportation and other social-determinant assistance for people seeking treatment, funding for jail-based substance-use services and support for local treatment providers including Changing Tides.
Saving Lives Task Force members and staff described high public support in the survey for substance-use treatment and aftercare (93% of respondents identified this as a good use of funds) and for related supports such as social determinants of health and peer support. The board discussed the recommendations and the recognition that settlement funds will not cover every local need; the task force said it would continue outreach and distribution work and invited continued public involvement.
The board voted unanimously to approve the FY26 allocations and asked staff to prepare the formal resolution and budget amendments for June. The task force co-chairs said they would continue to monitor inventory streams for naloxone and would coordinate with state deliveries to minimize redundant purchases.
Approved items included recurring allocations for peer support and recovery-court coordination, direct purchases of naloxone/test strips, social-determinant assistance funds and a contribution to local treatment providers and jail services. The board and task force emphasized that community input guided the plan and that the county will continue to publish performance updates.
