Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Opioid Funds And Contracts topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee approves opioid-settlement grant process, ARPA spending plan discussed and contracts approved
Summary
The Health & Human Services committee approved a resolution to offer community grants using roughly $141,000 in opioid settlement funds, reviewed an HHS ARPA spending plan (about $353,600) that prioritizes finance/HR software and equipment, and approved a new Life and Harmony Music Therapy contract plus three CCS contract amendments.
The Richland County Health & Human Services committee approved a resolution to use opioid settlement funds to offer grants for prevention, treatment and recovery programs, and considered related governance and ARPA spending items.
Unidentified HHS staff presented a spending plan that identified $353,600 of ARPA funds available for department use this year; staff said the plan is a working document and major proposed expenses include an integrated finance/HR/payroll/document-management software package and other equipment purchases. Committee members and staff discussed the difficulty of spending the full ARPA allocation within the year and suggested returning quarterly updates to the committee.
On contracts, the committee approved a new contract with Life and Harmony Music Therapy to continue a children's long-track support program (motion to approve by "Sandy," seconded by Michelle; voice vote recorded as passed). The committee also approved three amendments to CCS provider contracts to increase capacity; HHS staff noted the CCS increases are reimbursable through Medicaid and do not use local tax levy funds.
The committee then considered how to use opioid settlement funds. HHS presented a recommendation and an application process with an advisory committee to review requests; legal counsel warned that community providers who may apply should not serve in an evaluative role because of potential conflicts of interest and advised that the committee should provide recommendations to the full county board for final approval. The committee amended the resolution language to state the Community & Health Services committee will review applications twice yearly and forward final approvals to the full county board. Committee members approved the amended resolution (motion by Michelle; second by Mary; voice vote recorded as passed). HHS staff said approximately $141,000 is currently available for grants and expected to open the first application period later this year.
Next steps: the committee requested amended resolution language be incorporated into the packet before forwarding to the full county board; HHS will oversee grant budgets and compliance and will bring updates to the committee when application windows are opened.
