Toledo committee hears how OneOhio settlement dollars are funding local addiction prevention, treatment and recovery supports; councilmember presses for state‑l

The Toledo City Council Public Safety and Criminal Justice Reform Committee on March 20 heard from OneOhio Recovery Foundation and local service providers about how opioid settlement money is being used in Lucas County and elsewhere in Ohio.

OneOhio Recovery Foundation Executive Director Alicia Nelson told committee members the foundation views addiction as “a treatable chronic, medical disease involving complex interactions among brain circuits, genetics, [and] the environment,” and described the foundation’s role in awarding grants to programs across the state. Nelson said OneOhio’s 2024 regional grant round awarded “a little over $45,000,000” to 245 projects statewide and that Region 4 (Lucas County) received $2,140,000 to fund eight organizations.

The briefing centered on how settlement funds are distributed and used. Nelson said the statewide memorandum of understanding that guided settlements put 55 cents of every dollar to the foundation, 30 cents to local governments and 15 cents to the state, and that the foundation did not receive its first payments until March 2023. She also pointed attendees to a settlement‑payment tool and the Brown Grier settlement administrator website for payment totals, and said the Auditor of State has issued guidance for how local governments should account for and report the funds.

Why it matters: the committee sought local detail on…