Millions in federal opioid settlement funds remain unspent by these N.J. counties

Nikki Tierney has fought many of the same battles as the people who walk through her door.

She is a licensed counselor with law and master’s degrees who treats people with mental health challenges and substance use disorders. But nearly two decades ago, Tierney faced two felonies for altering prescriptions and child endangerment because of a lifelong struggle with drug addiction.

“I used to get involuntarily committed quite often,” Tierney said. “And then I tried to die by suicide. And that was the first time at age 35, I ever got true psychiatric care. And guess what? I’ve never looked back.”

In addition to working as a therapist in Monmouth and Ocean counties, Tierney is an advocate for people with substance use disorders.

She published an article in 2023 for the National Center for Advocacy and Recovery for Behavioral Health, which touched upon a subject that is becoming an increasingly growing issue for drug prevention organizations: Government spending of opioid settlement funds.

What are opioid settlement funds?

Opioids are a broad group of drugs that can be acquired through prescription medication or illegally to relieve pain. During the opioid crisis, they were overprescribed by doctors, leading to widespread addiction and many deaths.

In 2022, states and drug companies reached an agreement on a national lawsuit for their role in the epidemic. Opioid manufacturers, distributors and retailers have shelled out billions of dollars and will continue to do so for years to come.

New Jersey will receive $1.18 billion in settlement funds split equally between the state and local governments through the year 2038. These monies are meant to combat and alleviate the effects of the opioid crisis with treatment, harm reduction, education and other programs.

The state and local governments have received a combined $289 million since the first round of funding began in July 2022.

But, according to advocates and state data, not all counties in New Jersey have put the structures in place to spend the funds, and some have not allocated any funding toward addressing the opioid epidemic.

Money not being spent

Brian Regan of Freedom House, an addiction recovery organization based in Hunterdon County, said some counties have been very focused and proactive in allocating these funds while others have been “true laggards.”

Freedom House has been in contact with the Hunterdon Board of County Commissioners regarding opening a request for proposals since holding listening sessions in 2023.

The listening sessions provided opportunities for the community to give input on how the money should be spent, with organizations or businesses then submitting project proposals for funding.

Regan said Freedom House continually asked county officials when they would begin the request for proposal process after the listening sessions were held in the summer of 2023. According to Regan, the county replied that they were still working on it.

“This is a travesty that a county commissioner can be allowed to let this delay for so long when the need is so urgent to ensure that we are putting dollars specifically earmarked for this purpose to good use in the community,” Regan said.

Hunterdon County opened its request for proposal process on June 27 and closed it on July 30. The entire process from listening sessions to analyzing feedback and finally getting project proposals took around three years since settlement funds were first given.

According to Human Services Administrator Susan Nekola, the county’s approach is consistent with the timeline followed by other counties.

“While we recognize that many community providers are eager to access these funds. We believe it was essential to take the necessary time to craft an RFP that truly reflects the needs of our community,” Nekola said.

Seven counties in the state have not spent any of the funds received from the settlement program, including Bergen, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Hudson, Hunterdon and Mercer counties.

All told, these counties have a combined total of $18.4 million in unused or uncommitted opioid settlement funds.

Based on annual reports detailing how the funds were spent, Bergen County was the only one on the list to appropriate any money for a future cause. The county set aside $88,960 of the $6.3 million it received to date for a court diversion program.

The reports also outline if the counties completed any listening sessions, risk assessments or formulated a strategic plan for the funds.

Out of New Jersey’s 21 counties, only four, Atlantic, Camden, Ocean and Passaic, have created a strategic plan based on the most recently published report.

Tierney said she was hopeful this money would make a difference once properly appropriated but is disappointed that counties are not more proactive.

“I spoke with the League of Municipalities attorney … and he said they don’t want to spend on something they shouldn’t be. So, it’s like … paralysis by analysis. So now nobody’s spending,” Tierney said.

Proactive counties

Other counties did not take such a slow approach.

Camden County was hit hard by the opioid crisis and continues to see a ripple effect today as the second-highest county for overdose deaths.

Director of Camden County Health and Human Services, Caryelle Lasher, said within months of the first settlements they had a request for proposals in place. There had already been an established Addiction Awareness Task Force since 2014, which Lasher said gave them a good foundation to start on.

Camden County has sponsored over 16 programs with the settlement funds, including deploying overdose reversal medication in various places, mental health treatment services, education in schools and many other initiatives.

While they had a head start, Lasher said it was more important that they have supportive leadership and to speak with the people most impacted by substance use disorder.

“Waiting to spend it is watching people die and not doing everything you can to make a difference. And I think they felt the moral obligation to put this money into action,” Lasher said.