About this Page

As required by Section 25.18 of the New York State Mental Hygiene Law, this page provides information regarding Opioid Settlement funds received by Essex County and how such funds are allocated by the County.

Allowable Expenditures

Pursuant to New York State Mental Hygiene Law Section 25.18, funds shall only be used for prevention, public education, treatment, harm reduction, and recovery services related to substance use disorders and co-occurring mental illnesses, as well as supportive, community-based housing, and workforce programs for targeted populations.

See Schedule C – Approved Uses

Opioid Settlement Funds Revenues and Expenditures

The table below represents the monies Essex County has been allocated in Direct Share opioid settlement funds from national and state litigation settlements administered under New York State’s Opioid Settlement Sharing Agreement. These funds are dedicated to supporting local initiatives that address the opioid crisis. This chart will be updated annually to reflect additional settlements or multi-year payments made to the County.

YEAR RECEIVED EXPENDED
2022
$193,456.21
–
2023
$80,625.93
$64,609.71
2024
$121,888.38
$44,514.64
2025
$62,625.34
$17,417.13
TOTAL:
$458,595.86
$126,541.48

As of November 1, 2025, these funds have been utilized by the following departments:

  • Public Health – $59,326.48
  • Sheriff – $67,215.00

About the County's Opioid Response Efforts

Essex County uses a multi-department approach to address the opioid crisis through prevention, education, treatment, response, and recovery efforts.

Essex County Health Department

  • Support People in Treatment and Recovery- Support stigma reduction efforts regarding treatment and support for persons with OUD, including reducing the stigma on effective treatment. –Recovery day at Hunter Way
  • Support evidence-based, evidence-informed, or promising treatment, including MAT, recovery services and supports, and prevention services for pregnant women – or women who could become pregnant – who have OUD and any co-occurring SUD/MH conditions, and other measures, educate and provide support to families affected by Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome – Baby Steps Program.
  • Prevent Misuse Of Opioids – efforts to discourage or prevent misuse of opioids through evidence-based, evidence-informed, or promising programs or strategies.
    • Corrective advertising or affirmative public education campaigns based on evidence.
    • Public education relating to drug disposal.
    • Fund community anti-drug coalitions that engage in drug prevention efforts.
    • Support community coalitions in implementing evidence-informed prevention, such as reduced social access and physical access, stigma reduction – including staffing, educational campaigns, support for people in treatment or recovery, or training of coalitions in evidence-informed implementation, including the Strategic Prevention Framework developed by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
    • Support community-based education or intervention services for families, youth, and adolescents at risk for OUD and any co-occurring SUD/MH conditions.
  • Increasing availability and distribution of naloxone and other drugs that treat overdoses to first responders, overdose patients, opioid users, families and friends of opioid users, schools, community navigators and outreach workers, drug offenders upon release from jail/prison, and other members of the general public.
    • Provide free naloxone to anyone in the community,
    • Training and education regarding naloxone and other drugs that treat overdoses for first responders, overdose patients, patients taking opioids, families, schools, and other members of the general public.
    • Enable school nurses and other school staff to respond to opioid overdoses, and provide them with naloxone, training, and support.
    • Expand, improve, or develop data tracking software and applications for overdoses/naloxone revivals.
    • Public education relating to emergency responses to overdoses.
    • Public education relating to immunity and Good Samaritan laws.
    • Expand access to testing and treatment for infectious diseases such as HIV and Hepatitis C
  • Other Strategies
    • ECHO
    • Post-Mortem- Comprehensive death investigations for individuals where a death is caused by or suspected to have been caused by an opioid or synthetic opioid overdose, whether intentional or accidental
    • Baby Steps to Bright Futures Universal Home Visiting Program to all Essex County residents caring for new infants.
  • Hosted a Community Baby Shower to provide necessary baby items and promote community based services available to support families with new infants and young children.
  • Provide staff with additional training to support high-risk families including those with children diagnosed with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome.
  • Meet with local labor and delivery staff and OB/GYN offices to discuss/promote program and referral process.
  • Present Baby Steps to Bright Futures (BSBF) program at 2 DSS Children’s Services Staff meetings to encourage referrals and further collaboration.
  • Plan and host bi-monthly Baby Steps to Bright Futures meetings to provide updates to healthcare partners and community-based agency partners on the Baby Steps to Bright Futures Program.
  • Develop and distribute promotional items to increase awareness and acceptance of the Baby Steps to Bright Futures Program.

Essex County Sheriff Department

  • Law enforcement expenditures related to the opioid epidemic
    • Drug-detecting canines, training, and vehicles to accommodate
    • Leadership, Planning & Coordination – Community regional planning to identify goals for reducing harms related to the opioid epidemic, to identify areas and populations with the greatest needs for treatment intervention services, or to support other strategies to abate the opioid epidemic described in this opioid abatement strategy list including, but not limited to costs associated with local opioid task forces, community buprenorphine waiver trainings, and coordination and operation of community-based treatment prevention programing