South Dakota is distributing $7.8 million from a nationwide opioid settlement to support addiction treatment and recovery services. The funding will support projects including mobile crisis outreach on the Cheyenne River Reservation, street medicine clinics, addiction treatment training for primary care doctors, and recovery coaching for incarcerated people and recent inmates.
Grant Awards
The state awarded the grants through its revamped opioid settlement framework, which now offers large transformative grants of up to $2 million each, mid-sized grants of up to $50,000 awarded twice a year, and emergency grants of up to $5,000. The Department of Social Services and an Opioid Advisory Committee select projects that fill identified gaps in treatment services, prioritizing sustainability and measurable outcomes.
Major awardees include Avera Behavioral Health ($3 million to expand adolescent addiction services), Center for Family Medicine ($750,000 for addiction treatment training), Midwest Street Medicine ($750,000 for a mobile unit offering medication-assisted treatment and detoxification), and Face It Together ($920,700 for recovery coaching services for recently released inmates).
South Dakota is expected to receive about $99 million in total settlement funds through 2038. The state has collected $32.8 million so far, with 70% going to the Department of Social Services for statewide disbursement and 30% going directly to localities. A statewide needs assessment, funded with $325,000 from the settlement, is nearly complete and will further inform future funding decisions.
Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden announced the awards, stating the funds must be invested wisely to make a real difference in communities affected by the opioid crisis.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.mitchellrepublic.com/news/south-dakota/south-dakota-awards-7-8-million-from-opioid-settlement-to-combat-addiction