Advancing a Public Health Approach to Opioid Settlement Investments (2026)
The ongoing flow of opioid settlement funds to states and localities presents an important opportunity to make strategic, evidence-informed investments that support thriving communities. Building on prior project efforts, this current phase of work—running from October 2025 through July 2026—focuses on supporting state and local leaders and their partners to plan, implement, and assess investments across the prevention continuum.
Through this project, we support decision makers and their partners in using opioid settlement funds effectively, including identifying and applying evidence-based, community-informed strategies. Our approach emphasizes community-level primary prevention, multisector collaboration, and engagement with communities and people with lived and living experience in decision making.
Primary activities include:
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Designing and facilitating trainings that build skills among state and local leaders and their partners responsible for allocating and managing settlement funds, with a focus on selecting and implementing evidence-based prevention strategies.
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Developing and curating tools and resources that provide practical guidance on planning, implementing, and evaluating settlement-funded initiatives.
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Supporting continuous improvement of learning opportunities to ensure they remain relevant, practical, and responsive to decision makers’ needs.
