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Board approves opioid-settlement funding for treatment court incentives and national conference attendance
Summary
Richland County approved $5,000 in incentive funding for its treatment court and $17,000 to send staff to the 2026 'All Rise' national conference. Treatment court staff said the program has served 45 people and that training aims to bring evidence-based practices back to the county.
The Richland County Board approved a resolution allocating opioid-settlement funds to support the county treatment court and staff professional development.
Anna, identified in the transcript as the presenter for Health and Human Services, outlined two requests: $5,000 for incentive funding to support participants in the treatment court and $17,000 to fund attendance at the 2026 "All Rise" national conference in Nashville (July 20–23) for up to 18 team members. "Since treatment court started, we've provided services successfully for 45 individuals," Anna said, describing the program’s mission to reduce recidivism through evidence-based practices.
Anna told the board the $5,000 incentive funding had been used in part in the prior award year (about $3,500 spent), and staff are seeking the same amount for 2026 to help cover transportation, incentives and staffing needs that county match alone could not sustain. The treatment court team said conference attendance is intended to strengthen program capacity and implement two new practices or program improvements by June 2027.
Board members asked procedural questions about the source and remaining balance of opioid-settlement funds; staff stated these dollars come from legal settlements with pharmaceutical companies and are not county property tax dollars. A board member asked whether there is a local ranking for opioid impacts; staff and law enforcement described ongoing concerns and a modest return of synthetic opioids such as fentanyl.
The resolution passed by voice vote. The board recorded an approximate remaining opioid-settlement balance in discussion as around $300,000 before the approved allocations.
