Opioid Settlement Fund Adv. Board Recommendations & Report

November 12, 2024

The NYS Opioid Settlement Fund Advisory Board has made its FY2026 recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature for how the funds available for SFY26 should be appropriated (as a percentage of the whole and divided into categories).  See attached for the Report.

At the present time SFY 26 available funds breakdown as follows:  $65M total, of which $19.035M is for ‘regional shares’ (as determined by the terms of the various settlements), with the remaining $45.695M for State investments.

Here’s the results of how the Board voted to allocate resources to the various categories it has established. Remember:  These are recommendations:

  • Harm reduction: 28 percent 
  • Grassroots organizations that work with communities disproportionately affected by addition: 13 percent 
  • Addiction treatment programs: 12 percent 
  • Diversity, equity and inclusion efforts: about 10 percent 
  • Co-occurring Disorders: 9.13 
  • Recovery  7.80
  • Health Related Social Needs 7.40
  • Prevention 6.20
  • Data and Outcomes 6.027

As required by statute, the Report was sent to the Administration on November 1.  The process to get there was rough.  At the beginning of the document there is a Letter of Concern from board members.  It describes member frustrations with what they perceive to be a lack of data with which they can make informed recommendations.  OASAS takes the brunt of the complaints in the Letter however (to be fair) OASAS leads have insisted throughout the process that there is a great deal of information on its website, board members are regularly updated on the status of RFPs going out the door, and Peggy O’Shea from the Division of Budget provides regular updates to the board as to state receipts, etc.

You will note that the Board prepares spending recommendations and also takes the opportunity to provide policy recommendations.  One of the board’s recommendations is for the Governor to declare the ongoing overdose crisis a Public Health Emergency (see the Policy Recommendations section).  This is a request that has been the subject of some controversy over the past few years.