Public commenters allege Washington County misused nearly $900,000 in opioid settlement funds

Laura Dieterle, director of clinical and case management services at Washington Drug and Alcohol, and resident Sarah Hildebrand told the Washington County Board of Commissioners that the Pennsylvania Opioid Abatement Trust found additional grant spending to be noncompliant and called for greater transparency.

Dieterle said the trust determined an additional $550,000 from reviewed applications was noncompliant, adding to a previously identified $323,000 and bringing the total to nearly $900,000. "At this point, this is no longer an isolated issue. It's a pattern," Dieterle said, accusing county leaders of spending funds earmarked for opioid treatment "on other things, such as favors to friends," and saying required information was withheld from the trust.

Sarah Hildebrand, who described personal family loss to overdose and credited Washington Drug and Alcohol with saving a relative, urged the board to "support WDAC" and to "use settlement funds for their intended purpose." Hildebrand said the trust rule requires that noncompliant funds not be used again and warned the county’s choices could reduce future funding and harm residents who rely on services.

The chair responded from the dais, acknowledging the comments and offering to follow up. He also clarified a procedural point: "If it is deemed inaccurate, [the money] does not have to be paid back. That program just can't be funded again," he said, describing the Trust’s remedy for noncompliant awards.

No formal board action was taken on the public comments during the meeting. Commenters called for the county to clarify its review processes, address potential conflicts of interest on the funding review board they described and ensure future opioid settlement dollars are used for treatment, prevention and recovery.