Opioid Settlement Case Studies: Real Programs, Budgets & Outcomes
This library documents how communities across the country are using opioid settlement and abatement funds to expand prevention, treatment, recovery, and overdose prevention services. Each case study profiles a single program in a single jurisdiction and details its funding, partners, design, and outcomes, from same-day buprenorphine care in Burlington, Vermont, to a rural walk-in recovery center in Walker County, Alabama.
Use the filters to sort by settlement category, service type, population served, community type, state, and budget range, then open any profile to review the budget, results, and lessons learned. Each model is presented as a reference point rather than a prescription, so you can adapt the elements that fit your community's needs and capacity.
Prenatal Care and Addiction Medicine on One Team
10 to 12 pregnant clients at a time get prenatal care, addiction medicine and peer support from one team in Reno, Nevada, on $445K a year in settlement funds.
Walk-In Recovery Centers Across Seven Rural Counties
More than 6,000 people walked into a Lee County, KY recovery center since 2022, and the model now runs across seven rural counties on $865K in settlement awards.
HEART: Treatment That Follows People Into Custody
37 people in a northwest Virginia regional jail keep their opioid medication from the day they are booked, with counseling, peer support and groups inside.
Paid Therapy for a Rural County's Uninsured Workers
144 residents of Colorado's Gunnison County got 10 paid therapy sessions in 2025, each choosing their own therapist from a network of 57 local clinicians.
EMPOWERED: Care From Pregnancy to Two Years Postpartum
117 women in Las Vegas got counseling, peer support, and care coordination through pregnancy and two years postpartum, not six weeks, on $594K in settlement funds.
Practical Needs First at a Peer-Run Recovery Hub
622 people reached detox, treatment and sober living in one year, sent by peers at a Jonesboro, AR drop-in center built on a $250,000 settlement award.
Converting a State Building into Rural Treatment Beds
A vacant state office building near Booneville, AR reopened as a licensed 24-bed residential treatment center on a one-time $738,903 settlement award.
Low-Barrier Therapy Scholarships for Rural Recovery
231 people in four rural Colorado counties applied for therapy scholarships that pay $125 a session and ask for no diagnosis and no proof of a problem.
Rural Treatment Court Built on Existing County Capacity
Danville and Pittsylvania County, VA run a five-phase treatment court on $209,000 a year, using the court, probation and clinic capacity they already had.
Peer Support Inside the Public Defender's Office
Six settlement-funded peers work inside Maryland's public defender offices, moving clients from jail into vetted treatment under attorney-client privilege.
Peer Support Across Jails, Probation, and Recovery Courts
227 justice-involved people in New Hampshire got peer support in 2025 from staff who had lived recovery and incarceration, on $287K a year in settlement funds.
Peer-Led Jail Recovery with Free Outpatient Handoff
80% of participants in a rural northwest Kansas jail class were still in recovery a year later, on $500,000 in opioid settlement awards across two cycles.
Shared Overdose Response Team for Small Police Agencies
Pulaski County, AR shares one overdose team with five small police agencies, pairing a source investigator with a peer, on a $369,824 settlement award.
Same-Day Buprenorphine Care for Justice-Involved Adults
A walk-in clinic in Burlington, VT reached 170 new patients in year two, more than triple its target, on $150,000 a year to each of the two partner agencies.
Police + Peer Post Overdose Response Team
In Hot Springs, AR, a peer specialist and a police investigator visit overdose survivors together, reaching people in the hours when they are most open to help.
The Recovery Den: Rural Walk-In Center
Peer mentors in Walker County, AL logged 2,498 service visits in 2025 at a walk-in recovery center that runs on a $150K settlement award, no appointment needed.
Project Upstream: Prevention and Community Navigation
Project Upstream reaches 500+ residents a year across 8 Greater Manchester, NH communities, pairing prevention with navigation before problems deepen.
Rapid Responders & Community Programs Continuum
In Wake County, NC, Healing Transitions sends peer and EMS responders to overdose survivors within 24 to 72 hours, when re-engagement is most likely.
Continuum of Care Recovery for Justice-Involved Adults
The Shoulder runs an Alabama continuum that carries justice-involved adults from residential treatment through recovery, housing, and employment.
Youth Success Center for Prevention and Family Stabilization
Carter's Crew reached 5,000+ Arkansas youth in 2024 and is converting a 27,000-square-foot former school into a one-stop prevention and recovery hub for families.