Consultants present strategic plan for $15.5 million in opioid-settlement funds

Consultants for the Wichita–Sedgwick opioid settlement consortium presented a draft strategic plan to Sedgwick County commissioners that lays out a spreadsheet-based roadmap for spending an estimated $15,500,000 in combined city–county opioid-settlement funds.

"The total is about $15,500,000 that you're estimated to receive over the duration of the settlement," said Rhiannon Strait, a senior consultant with the Stedman Group, presenting the consortium's estimate and explaining that payouts are expected in annual, front-loaded installments. The consultants said the plan is built from a May 2024 needs assessment, a community consortium process and a steering committee that included city and county representatives.

The plan groups spending into four strategy areas — prevention/outreach, integrated care, overdose-prevention/treatment and planning/coordination — and pairs each strategy with measurable goal metrics the consortium endorsed. Stedman emphasized that the strategic-plan "guts" live in the spreadsheet deliverable and that the narrative report and appendices provide background and implementation detail. The consultants also flagged legal constraints: Exhibit E of the national MOU defines allowable uses; among other limits, settlement dollars cannot be used to supplant existing funds or for political contributions or police equipment unrelated to opioid abatement.

The presentation stressed sustainability and braiding funds: Stedman urged officials to coordinate with the state's 75% share programs and local applicants to stretch the 25% local bucket. The county will decide governance, procurement and which goals to fund before money is disbursed to implementers.