Johnson County moves opioid settlement work‑group recommendations to Nov. 20 action agenda; staff urged to return implementation plan

Johnson County commissioners voted unanimously to forward the opioid settlement funds work‑group recommendations to the board’s Nov. 20, 2025 action agenda after staff presented a mapping of local and state settlement dollars and a coalition recommendation to prioritize prevention and recovery.

Deputy County Manager Julie Kerence told commissioners Johnson County expects approximately $9.63 million in opioid settlement receipts over the 17‑year settlement window; the county has received nearly $3.8 million to date and held an approximate cash balance of $2.2 million at the time of the presentation. Staff summarized how state‑level Kansas Fight Addiction (KFA) allocations, municipal settlements and coordinated grants through United Community Services (UCS) have been deployed in 2025, and noted that treatment activities received the largest share of funds to date.

Sierra Wright, presenting for the Prevention and Recovery Coalition (PRC), urged the county to adopt the Institute of Medicine’s continuum‑of‑care framework — promotion, prevention, treatment and recovery — and said the work group identified prevention and recovery as underfunded relative to treatment. Wright said the coalition has grown to include partners across sectors and recommended the PRC be designated by the county as the coordinating body to develop strategic, multi‑year program proposals for the remaining funds and to return to the board with annual progress reports.

The work‑group recommendations the board advanced to the action agenda were: adopt the continuum‑of‑care framework; maintain the annual $100,000 investment to United Community Services to support coordinated grants; sustain a $100,000 annual allocation to the Prevention and Recovery Coalition; and formally designate the PRC (led by the county mental health department) as the county’s coordinating body for opioid settlement strategy for 2027 and beyond. Staff said the PRC would be asked to bring program proposals and metrics for board approval and that the county would use its allocations to leverage additional KFA and UCS funding.

Commissioners asked whether the sheriff’s office and other departments were consulted (staff said departments were invited to provide needs and had received limited one‑time funding in 2024), whether settlement dollars could address homelessness (staff said statute limits programming but non‑profits and UCS applicants sometimes propose services that touch homelessness), and how the county will measure outcomes. Several commissioners emphasized the importance of multi‑year investments to enable transformative programs rather than 12‑month initiatives.

Chair Mike Kelly moved to place the work‑group recommendations on the Nov. 20 action agenda; Commissioner Hanslick seconded. The clerk called the roll and recorded six votes in favor and none opposed. Staff was directed to work with the PRC to return with program recommendations and budget integration details ahead of the action meeting.