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.
Coordinator-Led Medication Treatment Across Two County Jails
250+ people take opioid use disorder medication in Santa Barbara County, CA's two jails, a third of all in custody, and leave with a follow-up appointment.
Membership Recovery Café Where Every Employee Is a Peer
10,166 Kentuckians came through a peer-led recovery café in Lexington since 2024, where every staff member is in recovery and members join a weekly circle.
Monarch Sober House: Women's Recovery Housing
A $1.2 million capital purchase put an 11-bed women's recovery home in Wheat Ridge, CO under a 15-year contract that recaptures funds if the operator exits.
Immediate Medication Access for the General Jail Population
97 people were on medication in the Chesterfield County, VA jail, delivered by a six-person team held separate from the therapeutic community already running.
Tying Every Settlement Dollar to a Documented Gap
Yolo County, CA maps its substance use gaps with providers before it spends, then ties every dollar of a $397,500 settlement budget to a documented need.
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.
19 Local Governments Pooling Settlement Funds
Three Colorado counties pool settlement dollars from 19 local governments under one council, backed by the state's first fiscal-agency relationship policy.
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.
Family Recovery Housing Preventing Foster Care Placement
Six townhomes in Lakewood, CO house whole families for a year of treatment and family therapy, keeping children out of foster care while a parent recovers.
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.
Preparing Physicians to Treat Addiction
A $199,929 grant asked 1,480 Wichita physicians what blocks addiction care, built the training they named, and opened Wichita's first addiction fellowship.
Youth Mentoring as Substance Use Prevention
99% of referred children have an adverse experience; College Station, TX answered by steering a $95,000 settlement award into a proven mentoring model.
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.
Centralized Tracking for Multi-Department Settlement Spending
Santa Clara County, CA puts every internal request for its $89M in opioid settlement funds through a grant-style review, tracked in one shared system.
Gap Analysis and Competitive Bids for Settlement Funds
Sacramento County, CA asked residents where to spend, ran its own gap analysis, and put $1.86M in opioid settlement funds out to bid across ten programs.
Free App for Naloxone Response and Overdose Reporting
A free Arkansas app walks bystanders through naloxone in English, Spanish, and Marshallese and logs the save, built for $296,000 and $8,750 a year to run.
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.
Police-Led Youth Drug Prevention Curriculum
27 of 28 Virginia Beach school resource officers now teach the LEAD drug prevention curriculum in local classrooms, funded entirely by a $140K settlement award.
Community-Guided Opioid Settlement Administration
Montgomery County, MD built settlement spending to last: a dedicated division, three competitive grant cycles, and funding substantiated for at least 18 years.