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Reno County approves opioid-settlement grants and funds care-coordinator position to expand treatment access
Summary
The commission approved opioid-settlement-funded grants and a county alcohol-tax contribution to create a full-time care-coordinator/program-provider position for Community Corrections, aiming to increase treatment capacity and reduce recidivism; officials said the role will be funded initially by grants with a goal of state support.
The Reno County Commission unanimously approved grant awards recommended by the county’s Opioid Settlement Funds Advisory Oversight Committee and authorized a new care-coordinator/program-provider position to expand local substance-use treatment capacity.
Candace Davidson of the Reno County Health Department summarized last year’s grant outcomes for Reno Connections and presented three applications solicited from community partners to spend remaining opioid-settlement funds on aligned treatment and recovery projects. Randy Regger, director of Reno County Community Corrections, described a proposed full-time position that would run groups (two for men, two for women), provide evidence-based curricula and perform active care coordination to remove barriers—transportation, housing and employment—that can prevent engagement in treatment.
Commissioners discussed funding sustainability. Officials said the initial $15,000 allocation from opioid-settlement funds would be combined with alcohol-tax money and a Kansas Department of Corrections (KDOC) community corrections grant as a startup strategy. The administration emphasized a long-term goal of moving funding to state KDOC support rather than county general tax dollars.
The board voted to approve the recommended opioid-settlement grants (motion recorded in meeting materials) and separately approved the use of $20,000 from county alcohol-tax revenues toward the full-time care-coordinator/program-provider position. Commissioners noted the statutory limits and reporting tied to alcohol-tax dollars (citing KSA 79-41A04) and said grants will be used to seed the position while staff pursue longer-term KDOC funding.
What this means: County officials said the role is intended to expand local treatment capacity, supplement existing community providers, and reduce downstream incarceration and jail costs by improving access to services and stabilizing clients.
Quote: “This is money that the government has taken from the people that were selling the opiates and diverted that back into the community to provide treatment services,” a commissioner said in supporting the awards.
Next steps: Staff will work on grant applications and state funding advocacy; the county will monitor program outcomes as the position begins operation.
