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Portage County approves application to use opioid-settlement funds for room-and-board in residential substance-use treatment
Summary
After a public comment urging that room-and-board barriers be removed, the Portage County Health & Human Services committee voted to apply for state opioid-settlement funding to cover room-and-board costs for residential substance-use treatment; staff said county allotments are predetermined by the state and per-day room-and-board rates vary by provider ($40–$150 reported).
The Portage County Health & Human Services committee voted to approve an application to use state opioid-settlement funds for room-and-board costs for residential substance‑use disorder treatment.
The motion, made and seconded during the committee’s March meeting, passed by voice vote after a public comment from Sarah Bristow, a peer support specialist with Family Health Center, who urged the county to use the funds to remove financial barriers to treatment. Bristow said, “The treatment is covered, but the room and board is not…so many people…they can't enter or stay in residential care because they can't afford room and board, which is keeping people sick, unsafe, vulnerable to overdose.”
Staff explained the grant is a state-administered, noncompetitive allocation drawn from opioid litigation settlement funds; the state set a predetermined dollar amount that counties may apply to. Committee members asked about the likely award for Portage County; staff noted the transcript contains conflicting remarks (one member referenced $60,000, another asked, “I’m curious how long it’s $17,000”), but the final county allotment was not specified in the meeting record.
The committee heard that room-and-board rates vary by provider and are negotiated or approved through Medicaid for contracted residential programs. Staff said contracted residential facilities’ daily room-and-board charges can range from about $40 to $150 per day, depending on the provider and documented costs. Committee members noted local providers that serve the county, including Aspire's Behavioral Health in Stevens Point and other programs in the Fox Valley/Appleton area.
A committee member asked that the county avoid imposing extra local barriers such as requiring ASAM assessments only at the county level; Bristow recommended accepting clinician‑completed ASAM assessments to facilitate access. The committee approved the application by voice vote with the chair calling for “aye” and the motion carrying.
Next steps: staff will complete the application as authorized; the transcript does not record a detailed funding breakdown or final award amount.
