Brief Description of the Colorado Opioid Settlement Fund: In August 2021, after announcing several historic settlements with major drug manufacturers and distributors, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser announced a framework for distributing nearly $400 million in Opioid Settlement Funds. This framework applies to all Opioid Settlement Funds that have been obtained by the Department of Law to date, or in the future. The Department of Law, municipalities and counties of Colorado agree that these funds will be used for the Approved Purposes listed in Exhibit A of the Colorado Opioid Settlement Memorandum of Understanding. The Opioid Settlement Funds will be distributed to 19 regions, and two federally recognized Colorado tribes. The Colorado Opioid Abatement Council (COAC) will provide oversight of the regional and infrastructure funds to ensure funds are used for Approved Purposes.
OSF Region 1: Region 1 is composed of Rio Blanco, Moffat, Routt, Jackson, and Grand counties. Representatives from all five counties, including public health and health care providers, law enforcement, educators, county commissioners, and other stakeholders identified two primary goals for which OSF funds will be used to address prevention, treatment, and recovery needs for people at risk for or experiencing substance use disorder (SUD).
OSF Region 1 SUD Professionals Retention & Recruitment initiative:
● Funding Goal: Increase the number of professionals in Region 1 who are educated and qualified to treat people with SUDs
● Funding Objective: Provide funding to retain and recruit SUD treatment and recovery professionals in Region 1 through housing and salary stipends/incentives. ● Awards: Awards will be based on available funding and number/amount of application requests.
● OSF Year 1 Available Funding: $186,776 (to be divided among all awardees)
RFP Description: This RFP requires applicants to provide: 1) a narrative explanation regarding why OSF funds are being requested and how OSF funds would be used to meet the defined goal and objective; and 2) a budget for their funding request.
Statewide