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Center for Hope South requests $50,000 from Bannock County opioid-settlement funds to support recovery coaches
Summary
Center for Hope South leaders told commissioners that opioid-settlement money is an appropriate source to fund peer recovery coaches, warm handoffs from crisis centers and re-entry services; they asked Bannock County for $50,000 to cover half of a recovery-coach position plus program supports and offered reporting on opioid-related service counts.
Representatives from Center for Hope South asked Bannock County to allocate opioid-settlement money to sustain peer recovery services, warm handoffs from the crisis center and case-management supports.
Nancy (Center for Hope South) told the commission that federal and block grants that previously funded some positions are being reallocated and that the center has sought funding from neighboring counties. “There’s roughly $580,000 currently in the Bannock County piece,” a presenter said while reading from settlement Exhibit A and explaining permissible uses for opioid-settlement dollars.
Center staff described services that match the settlement’s listed uses: mobile intervention and recovery services, peer recovery centers and crisis-stabilization support. Recovery coaches Kyle and Benji described warm handoffs at the crisis center and follow-up support that helps people attend treatment and handle immediate needs such as identification, food stamps and transportation.
The presenters said one full recovery-coach position costs about $64,000 including benefits and that they were requesting funding for half that position plus additional program support — a total request of $50,000 to be paid from the county opioid allocation. Nancy offered to provide reporting that ties county dollars to clients with opioid use disorder and to produce monthly or quarterly figures if the county required it.
Commissioners asked for more granular data on the percentage of clients with opioid involvement and for assured reporting if the county funds opioid-specific services; county legal staff and commissioners discussed how the county must be able to trace opioid-funded services to the settlement’s allowed uses. Speakers, including Senator Guthrie who attended, urged commissioners to consider the request and noted the local impact of peer and re-entry services.
