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Dylan Reingold, County Attorney William K. DeBraal, Deputy County Attorney Susan J. Prado, Assistant County Attorney kli� County Attorney's Matters - B. C C .4.4.23 Oce of INDIAN RIVER COUNTY MEMORANDUM TO: Board of County Commissioners FROM: Dylan Reingold, County Attorney DATE: March 29, 2023 SUBJECT: Opioid Settlement Proceeds ATTORNEY BACKGROUND. On June 15, 2021, the Indian River County Board of County Commissioners approved a proposed Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") with the State of Florida Attorney General's Office that serves as the allocation agreement between the State of Florida and the local governments on the settlement of various opioid cases. As part of the MOU, money would go into a City/County Fund, a Regional Fund and a State Fund. In December 2022, Indian River County received $139,604.16 from the State of Florida for its portion of the City/County Fund. I had a conversation with Janna Barineau, Senior Operations Manager, with the Attorney General's Office on March 8t' and was told that Indian River County should also anticipate receiving roughly $158,000 as a one-time payment as part of the Walmart opioid settlement in the next 30 to 90 days. She also stated that Indian River County should expect to receive year 2 funds in the amount of roughly $140,000 in August or September. Earlier this year, the County Attorney's Office reached out to the Sheriff's Office and the Emergency Service District with respect to proposed uses of the funds that were received in December. The Sheriff s Office was interested in using funds for addressing opioid use disorders in the jail. The Emergency Services Director recommended using funds for the Substance Abuse Center and the Mental Health Association and also using funds to assist the District with the increased cost of drugs used to resuscitate opioid overdose victims, along with enhanced training opportunities for the District crews. On February 24, 2023, the issue of the use of the funds was discussed at the Public Safety Council for Criminal Justice, Mental Health and Substance Abuse ("Council") meeting. Although there was not a quorum, the Council discussed the use of funds for expanded programs and facilities at the jail to treat inmates with substance abuse problems. It was also suggested using funds for a new device that could scan substances inside of sealed packages, avoiding the need for law enforcement to open the packages and expose themselves to dangerous drugs. And funds could be used to increase accessibility to the drug court and the hiring of a screener who could meet with clients at the time of intake to determine who is eligible for the various problem -solving courts. Finally, the Council discussed the Sheriff's Office need for Narcan (a medication used to reverse or reduce the effects of opioids) in auto -injectors, citing the difficulty of using nasal applicators on some people deputies encounter. (� C: IGr=kwTegi W_WJITww121cfcd04-1760-452J-M4"3J6051WIc3.dw 98