The DuBois County Board of Commissioners voted Oct. 20 to approve opioid-settlement funding not to exceed $107,237 to RISE Peer Recovery to continue peer services in the local jail and a 30-day reentry program.

Vanessa Phillips, director of forensic services for RISE Peer Recovery, told commissioners the program has historically been grant-funded and will transition to a state billable model on Jan. 1, 2026. She asked the county to provide the required 30% match earlier in the year to ease that transition and requested the county’s allocation be available in January when settlement funds are received.

Phillips said RISE operates monthly peer-coach meetings with other local recovery providers and had recently won a $3,000 award for reentry support (phones, gas cards and food cards). She described the program’s 30-day reentry supports for people leaving incarceration and said the University of Massachusetts report correlating peer presence with lower ER admissions would be provided to the county.

Commissioners discussed data and reporting expectations. One commissioner asked for outcome data and cost-effectiveness; Phillips said she would provide a mid-year report (covering July–June) and an end-of-year report in June 2026 and expected to have additional billing details from the state after an early-November meeting.

A motion to approve the RISE request, not to exceed $107,237 and to use restricted Exhibit E opioid-settlement funds, passed unanimously.

Commissioners asked that the grantee prioritize other fund sources first during the year and use county settlement funds toward year-end needs as appropriate. The board also asked for follow-up outcome data to assess program impact ahead of future funding decisions.