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Washoe County outlines opioid-settlement spending, says $2.97M spent and nearly 900 people connected to services
Summary
County grants analyst Lauren Beal told commissioners the county has received $11.43 million so far from opioid settlements, allocated just over $5 million to grantees and spent $2.97 million; staff outlined performance measures and a forthcoming NOFO for 2026–29 funding.
Washoe County grants and community program analyst Lauren Beal reported to the Board of County Commissioners that the county has received $11,430,000 in opioid-settlement funds to date and has allocated just over $5,000,000 to grant awards since July 2024, with $2,970,000 paid out so far.
Beal, who presented a timeline of awards and a public dashboard for the program, said the county will launch a new notice of funding opportunity next month for the 2026–29 funding cycle. She told the board the county has prioritized access to treatment for uninsured and underinsured residents, emergency-department buprenorphine availability, overdose prevention and education, child-welfare best practices, and detox capacity building.
“Nearly 900 people have been connected to treatment or services by our grantees,” Beal said, and staff have recorded distribution of “over 5,000 doses of naloxone” through funded programs. She described client-level stories to illustrate outcomes, including one individual who reentered treatment, completed programming and transitioned into permanent housing.
Commissioners pressed staff on oversight after a public commenter and one commissioner raised concerns that a prior grantee receiving county opioid funds had financial irregularities. Commissioner Clark described the matter as “allegations” and asked what safeguards were added. Beal responded that the county has changed protocols for more recent funding rounds, added capacity-building lines in the funding plan and is implementing a more rigorous RFP and evaluation process for forthcoming awards.
Beal said each grantee must submit quarterly narrative and de‑identified client data tied to performance measures, and the county is building dashboard pages to track community-level indicators — including overdose counts and diversion from emergency departments — with an initial data page expected in about six months. The board did not take action but directed staff to continue refining performance measures and to proceed with the upcoming NOFO.
