Sedgwick County, Wichita review Stedman Group plan to spend roughly $15.5M in opioid settlement funds

Sedgwick County commissioners on Feb. 18 heard a final-draft strategic plan from the Stedman Group and the Wichita Sedgwick Opioid Settlement Consortium recommending priorities and governance options for about $15,500,000 estimated to be available over the life of the opioid settlements to the combined city and county local allocation.

The plan, developed by a community consortium and presented by Stedman consultants, lays out a vision, measurable goals and recommended dollar allocations across four strategy areas—stigma reduction and outreach, integrated care, overdose prevention and expanded treatment—and a planning-and-coordination allocation the consultants estimated at about 15 percent of available funds (roughly $2,325,000). The consultants said the total is an estimate and will be updated as additional settlements finalize and state distributions are adjusted.

Rhiannon Strait, senior consultant with the Stedman Group, said, "the work we're presenting to you today is the product of the efforts of the consortium," and emphasized that the plan reflects community co‑creation and would not be substantially rewritten by consultants without the consortium's input.

Why it matters: the presentation is intended to give elected officials a structured, evidence‑based way to allocate local opioid‑settlement dollars within the limits of the state memorandum of understanding (MOU) and Exhibit E, the document consultants identified as defining allowable and unallowable uses. Commissioners and staff framed the discussion as an initial step toward deciding a governance approach, procurement mechanisms and which goals to fund first.

Key facts and recommendations

- Estimated funds: Stedman and staff said a combined…