Louisville Opioid Settlement

Overview 

Louisville Metro is one of thousands of local governments across the nation receiving settlements from companies that manufactured and distributed opioid painkillers and helped fuel the opioid epidemic that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives.  Jefferson County is now set to receive more than $57 million in direct payments beginning in 2022 during the 18-year lifetime of the settlements.   

The city has received a payment of $7.2 million for years one and two. The settlement provides guidance that funds should be used on evidence-based strategies that address opioid prevention, treatment and recovery.  

What was the process for identifying priorities in this initial round of funding?

The Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness (LMPHW) reviewed local data and national models for best practices and solicited input from community organizations.  These proposals were aligned with the settlement requirements and the Principles for the Use of Funds from the Opioid Litigation developed by a national coalition of 50+ leading public health groups and published by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.  

The principles are:   

• spend money
• to save lives
• use evidence to guide spending  invest in youth prevention
• focus on racial equity
• develop a transparent, inclusive decision-making process

Priorities for the first round of funding 

 

The goal of this first round of funding is to immediately save lives and prevent deaths related to substance use disorder by focusing on the people who are most likely to die of an overdose.  

According to the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy’s 2022 Overdose Fatality Report, while the state and county have seen declines in overdose deaths, Jefferson County residents are still dying at higher rates than the state as a whole. Additionally, overdose deaths of Black residents have increased tenfold and have tripled for White residents from 2011-2021. Every ZIP code in Louisville had a resident die from overdose in 2021, with deaths most concentrated in the West, South and Southwest of Louisville. 

 

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Proposals funded to date

 On August 10, 2023, Louisville Metro Council approved a first round of funding for approximately $2 million to focus on saving lives. The following proposals and amounts were approved:

 

Second Round of Funding – Request for Applications

Mayor Craig Greenberg appointed an Opioid Settlement Distribution Advisory Board to help identify priorities for future rounds of funding. On October 30, 2023, the Advisory Board announced a Request for Applications for the second round of funding which is $5.3 million.

• Request for Application can be found here.
• Extended deadline to submit applications: 3 p.m., December 4, 2023 

Eligibility

Organizations serving Louisville and Jefferson County residents are invited to apply, particularly organizations providing:  

• Prevention strategies and services, including primary youth prevention  
• Treatment and long-term recovery support
• Housing and comprehensive wrap-around services for people experiencing homelessness to support them in treatment and recovery.

Proposals should

• Be evidence-based or evidence-informed. 
• Include data that supports the need for the project and a thorough project description. 
• Have detailed information about the population to be served, particularly populations in underserved areas.  
• Demonstrate the applicant’s knowledge of and relationship with the population to be served by the project. 
• Demonstrate how the proposal aligns with local priorities and community-identified needs. 
• Metrics to gauge success as well as a plan for sustainability. 

Selection and Award Process

Applications will be reviewed and scored by the Louisville Metro Opioid Settlement Advisory Board. The Board will make recommendations for funding to Mayor Greenberg and Louisville Metro Council.  

Following approval by Metro Council, organizations will meet with LMPHW to discuss the grant agreement process and specific metrics for the project.  

The period of funding will be January 1, 2024, through December 31, 2024.
 

For questions related to this funding opportunity, please contact: Alan Cunningham 
Phone: (502) 574-6397