Can I provide input on spending?

Yes (required). The Prescription Opioid Settlement Distribution Commission (POSDC) is required by state law to “seek input from the public . . . and individuals concerned with the intended purposes of the [settlement] [f]unds” and hold public hearings “as necessary” to provide opportunities for public comment.[1] It is tasked to ensure that “decisions on how to spend opioid-related funds are based on the consensus of stakeholders through a process that considers the views and experiences of affected communities.”[2] Significantly, the POSDC can only take official action, including making any findings or recommendations, with the approval of a majority of its members at a public meeting.[3]

These requirements are reflected in the POSDC’s Resolution No. 2023-1, which created several standing committees. The Public Outreach and Community Input Committee is responsible for proposing best practices for gathering public input and identifying trends in data collected from public outreach.[4]

• Public comment at POSDC’s committee meetings. The resolution requires all of the POSDC’s standing committees to give members of the public opportunities to speak at its meetings, “subject to such reasonable time, place and manner restrictions as the presiding officer may prescribe.”[5] The greater POSDC and the Public Outreach and Community Input Committee both convene on a quarterly basis; check their public meetings calendar for future opportunities to provide public comment.[6]

• Listening sessions and public survey. In 2023, the POSDC held a series of listening sessions in all three of Delaware’s counties.[7] Keep an eye out for similar opportunities in future. The POSDC has also sought feedback through its ongoing “Listening Tour Survey,” which provides members of the public an opportunity to “help the commission better understand the opioid-related problems you have experienced, learned about, or provided services for and the resources you believe are needed to reduce them,” and “inform [its] recommendations for remediating Delaware’s opioid crisis.”

Can I apply for grants?

Yes. Delaware has previously established settlement-funded grant opportunities for which community organizations are eligible to apply. Current and past funding opportunities from the Prescription Opioid Settlement Distribution Commission are posted here. Local governments may create grant programs to distribute their share of funds. The existence, parameters, and processes for local settlement grant programs will vary by locality, so stay alert for new opportunities. Visit the Opioid Settlement Community Grants Portals (OpioidSettlementTracker.com and Legal Action Center) for the most up-to-date information on settlement grant opportunities for community organizations.

Where do I go for updates?

• For updates on the Prescription Opioid Settlement Fund, visit the POSDC’s website and subscribe to receive email updates.

• To view and subscribe to the POSDC’s calendared public events, including the meetings of its various committees, click “Subscriptions” here. Meeting details include both in-person and virtual attendance options.

What else should I know?

Not applicable.

Citations

1. 16 Del. C. Sec. 5196A(h). ↑

2. 16 Del. C. Sec. 5195(b)(2)(d). ↑

3. 16 Del. C. Sec. 5196A(d)(1). ↑

4. Resolution No. 2023-1 Establishing Standing Committees and Initial Charters. Prescription Opioid Settlement Distribution Commission. March 27, 2023 (“[T]he Commission hereby recognizes the formation of a standing ‘Public Outreach and Community Input Committee’ that shall have authority to and shall (a) develop and propose best practices for disseminating information and gathering necessary stakeholder and public input, (b) identify trends in data collected from stakeholder meetings and public outreach efforts, and (c) monitor, make recommendations and periodically report to the Commission with respect to the foregoing.” ↑

5. Resolution No. 2023-1 Establishing Standing Committees and Initial Charters. Prescription Opioid Settlement Distribution Commission. March 27, 2023 (“Members of the pubic who are present and desire to speak on a matter of public business must be given an opportunity to speak at the end of each meeting, subject to such reasonable time, place and manner restrictions as the presiding officer may prescribe”). ↑

6. See the several references to “quarterly” meetings here (Public Meeting Calendar. Delaware website. Accessed September 1, 2024). ↑

7. Joe Irizarry. Delaware Prescription Opioid Settlement Distribution Commission to lead three meetings on epidemic. Delaware Public Media. June 18, 2023. Accessed September 1, 2024. See also Department of Justice: Opioid Settlement Update – Prescription Opioid Settlement Distribution Commission Public Listening Sessions. Delaware Department of Justice. April 2023. ↑

Has the state established an advisory body for settlement funds?

Yes. The (POSDC) was established by state law as a subcommittee of the .[1] The POSDC is responsible for with making recommendations to the Behavioral Health Consortium on the distribution of settlement funds and ensuring that their uses are “coordinated to abate the opioid crisis in Delaware and not diverted to other purposes.”[2]

The POSDC is also required by state law to create a to provide recommendations on the distribution of opioid settlement funds.[3]

Is the state advisory body required to include member(s) with lived and/or living experience?

No. The POSDC is not required to include a member with lived and/or living experience.

What is the overall membership of the state advisory body?

The POSDC’s current members are listed . The POSDC is co-chaired by the state’s Attorney General and Governor (or their designees) and is required by state law to contain the following fifteen (15) members,[4] each whom may also select a designee to serve in their stead:[5]

• State Attorney General

• The Governor

• The Secretary of the Department of Health and Social Services

• Four (4) members of the state legislature, representing both chambers and parties

• Two (2) members of the public who live in Delaware, one of whom is appointed by the Governor and the other by the Attorney General

• Three (3) members representing each county government in Delaware (New Castle, Kent, and Sussex)

• One (1) member representing a participating municipal government, appointed by the Governor from a list of candidates provided by the Delaware League of Local Governments

• One (1) member representing a “substance use disorder advocacy group,” appointed by the Attorney General

• One (1) member representing the “addiction recovery system,” appointed by the Governor

Are local governments required to establish a settlement advisory body? If so, are local advisory bodies required to include member(s) with lived and/or living experience?

What else should I know?

Citations

2. 16 Del. C. Secs. 5196A(a) (“The Commission shall make recommendations to the Consortium regarding all distributions from the money in the Settlement Fund and the Impact Fund”), 5195(b)(2)(d) ("The Commission shall distribute settlement moneys, as well as opioid impact fees, to ensure that the use of settlement proceeds and impact fees is coordinated to abate the opioid crisis in Delaware and not diverted to other purposes. It is the intent of the General Assembly that moneys from statewide opioid settlement agreements and the prescription opioid impact fee are used to maximize harm reduction from the opioid crisis and to provide Delawareans with a coordinated opportunity to provide input on the best ways to spend these moneys in order to abate the opioid crisis”). ↑

4. 16 Del. C. Secs. 5196A(b)-(c). ↑

5. 16 Del. C. Sec. 5196A(b). ↑

6. 16 Del. C. Sec. 5196A(e)(1). ↑

7. 16 Del. C. Sec. 5196A(f). ↑

8. 16 Del. C. Sec. 5196A(f). ↑

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• Grant-related reference materials:

  • (May 2023)

Delaware Health and Social Services

Delaware Department of Justice

Where do these monies live?

The Prescription Opioid Settlement Fund (Settlement Fund) holds Delaware’s state and local shares of opioid settlement funds.[1]

What can this share be spent on?

With limited exceptions,[2] Settlement Fund monies must be spent to remediate the harm caused by opioids, reduce opioid-related harms, and for other purposes consistent with the national settlement agreements’ (non-exhaustive) ,[3] which includes prevention, harm reduction, treatment, recovery, and other strategies.

The Prescription Opioid Settlement Distribution Commission’s “,” which are informed by “Delaware’s identified needs,” highlight a subset of Exhibit E’s many interventions.

Who ultimately decides how to spend this share (and how)?

Delaware Behavioral Health Consortium decides (according to Prescription Opioid Settlement Distribution Commission recommendations). The (Consortium) ultimately decides specific Settlement Fund expenditures for this share based on recommendations from the (Commission),[4] a subcommittee of the Consortium chaired by the governor and the attorney general.[5] The Consortium uses the Commission’s recommendations as it awards , directs the Secretary of the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services to enter into contracts, and distributes funds to agencies and localities “to be administered as directed by the Commission.”[6]

In creating its recommendations, the Commission must review recommendations from the state’s Behavioral Health Consortium, , , and .[7] The Commission’s Local Government Committee must also recommend Settlement Fund expenditures to the Commission,[8] and the Commission must notify the Local Government Committee if it chooses not to adopt its recommendations.[9]

Are supplantation uses prohibited for this share?

Yes, supplantation is prohibited. Delaware state law explicitly states that money from the Prescription Opioid Settlement Fund “may not be used to supplant existing state or local government funding.”[10] This means that Delaware’s opioid settlement funds may only be spent in ways that supplement — rather than replace (or “supplant”) — existing state or local government resources.

Can I see how this share has been spent?

Yes (public reporting required). Delaware has established a with information on settlement fund distributions and recipients. You can also view grant awardees on the Prescription Opioid Settlement Distribution Commission’s (scroll to “Prescription Opioid Settlement Distribution Grant Awards”). The Commission is required to post an annual report that includes detailed expenditure information.[11]

Visit OpioidSettlementTracker.com’s for an updated collection of states’ and localities’ available expenditure reports.

What else should I know?

In June 2024, after the State Auditor uncovered evidence of alleged grantee fraud, Delaware Attorney General (AG) Kathleen Jennings wrote to the state’s Department of Justice (DOJ) to express “serious concerns about the stewardship of Delaware’s prescription opioid settlement funds.”[12] Though the AG “strongly recommend[ed] an immediate and complete freeze on new grants by the Commission,”[13] the Behavioral Health Consortium voted to approve $2 million in new grants in the weeks following the letter.[14] Since then, the State Auditor’s Office has expressed interest in pursuing audits of additional Commission grantees,[15] and Delaware’s Department of Justice has asked the Commission to turn over certain grant application materials, asserting the Attorney General’s right “[a]s co-chair of the POSDC … to access the books and records of the Commission.”[16]

Citations

4. Del. Code tit. 16, Secs. 4808B(g), 5195(b)(2), 5196A(a), 5196B(a). Importantly, if the Consortium chooses not to adopt a Commission recommendation, it must provide the Commission a written explanation and allow the Commission to revise its recommendation. Del. Code tit. 16, Sec. 5196B(a)(2). Though the Consortium is unable to distribute Settlement Fund monies without a “conforming recommendation” from the Commission, Del. Code tit. 16, Sec. 5196B(a)(3), money distributed by the Consortium will be disbursed from the Settlement Fund by the state’s Treasurer only after final authorization by the Consortium’s chair, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the Controller General, and co-chairs of the Joint Finance Committee. Del. Code tit. 16, Sec. 5196B(b)(1)-(4). ↑

6. Del. Code tit. 16, Sec. 5196B(a)(1). ↑

9. Del. Code tit. 16, Sec. 5196A(e)(3) (“If the Commission does not adopt the recommendations of the Local Government Committee, the Commission shall provide a written explanation of the decision and provide an opportunity for the Local Government Committee to respond”). ↑

10. Del. Code Ann. tit. 16 Sec. 4808B(e). ↑

11. Del. Code Ann. tit. 16, Sec. 5195(c)(2) (the report must include (1) “[b]y fund, the contracts or grants awarded by the Consortium, including the identity of each recipient, the amount of the award, the subject matter or program involved, and the primary terms and conditions of the award or contract,” and (2) “[b]y fund, the amounts disbursed in respect of approved contracts, grants and other authorized expenditures and administrative expenses, including amounts disbursed to qualifying local governments for local government block grants”). ↑

This Community Guide will describe how Delaware is spending its opioid settlements and whether Delaware is working to ensure community access to opioid settlement funds. Last revised September 1, 2024.

Here is the entity that ultimately decides how Delaware’s opioid settlement funds are spent:

• 100% Prescription Opioid Settlement Fund: Delaware Behavioral Health Consortium