In the United States, communities and families, particularly children and youth, have been harmed by the opioid crisis created by pharmaceutical companies and pharmacies.
In 2021 settlements were reached with pharmaceutical distributors, manufacturers and pharmacies. Most of the money is going directly to states and local governments. The money must be used to repair the harms caused by the crisis.
As part of these settlements, North Carolina will receive $1.5 billion. These funds will be distributed over the next 18 years.
Local governments have a complex and challenging task ahead. They must decide how to use the funds. It’s important to use the money effectively and equitably to address negative impacts of the opioid crisis.
It’s especially important that decisions include children and youth, whose voices are often left out of decision-making.
Tools to keep children and youth in mind
A new four-year grant will develop tools to provide clear and compelling guidance to local governments. They’re wrestling with hard choices about what to invest in.
The new tools will strengthen their consideration of children and youth as they make decisions. All NC counties and municipalities will be able to access the tools for free.
The ~$1 million grant from the William T. Grant Foundation is led by Leah Frerichs. The research team includes Kristen Hassmiller Lich (Gillings), Orrin Ware (Social Work) and Lia Kaz (CHER).
“We do not seek to overcomplicate nor limit how dollars are allocated,” Frerichs said. Instead, the team is keeping in mind that decision-making can be fluid and have a lot of moving parts.
The tools they’ll develop will “improve decision-making processes with opioid settlement funding” in North Carolina.
The tools will also help county decision-makers keep in mind important context about children and youth. Children and youth have been harmed by opioids in many ways. From opioid use to parental opioid use to “spillover effects” into systems like foster care, young people are part of communities impacted by the opioid crisis.
Finally, the tools will increase the use of programs based on strong evidence. These programs will help prevent, or reduce, opioid misuse by children and youth. And they’ll decrease the impacts on children and youth from parents and other loved ones challenged by opioid addiction.
Building on strong foundations
North Carolina has been a leader in the US for creating and following a transparent and equitable process for using opioid settlement funding.
Several key partners, including the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC), the Department of Justice (DOJ), the University of North Carolina Injury Prevention Research Center (UNC-IPRC) and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) created CORE-NC.
CORE-NC provides substantial resources, including county-specific data and evidence-based resources to help guide local spending.
The first phase of this grant will help the researchers understand the current resources and processes of previous and concurrent work. That way, they can align their tools with the great work already ongoing in the state.
According to Lia Kaz and Frerichs, “Our grant will focus on intentional decision-making to ensure the inclusion of best practices for supporting children and youth through the use of the opioid settlement funding for healthier outcomes and healthier communities.”
“NC is part of a powerful monetary, legal and programmatic response to harms caused by opioid overprescription and misuse,” they added.
The researchers hope to increase the use of best practices research, intentional decision-making and community input. With these foundations, children and youth can be considered more fully.
This new grant will support this strong response. And it will continue the work of strengthening North Carolina’s communities.