Advisory Bodies
Has the state established an advisory body for settlement funds?
Yes. Ohio’s settlement MOU directs the creation of a 29-member Board of Directors (“Board”) to govern the OneOhio Recovery Foundation and oversee disbursement of settlement monies from the Foundation’s 55% share.[1]
Expert Panel. The Foundation also includes a Board-appointed Expert Panel that uses “experts in addition, pain management, and public health, including individuals with lived experience and other fields relating to substance use disorder, to make recommendations to the Board that will seek to ensure that all nineteen (19) regions can address the opioid epidemic locally, as well as statewide.”[2] The Expert Panel is authorized to “consult with and offer expert advice to the Regions on projects recommended for funding.”[3] As described in the Foundation’s Expert Panel Policy,[4] the Expert Panel also:
Supports the grant process by providing recommendations on statewide grants and initiatives, clarifying and/or creating abatement strategies “when necessary,”[5] and conducting technical reviews of grant applications.[6]
Advises the Foundation, including by assisting the Board “in determining the amount and timing of Foundation funds to be distributed as Regional Shares” and “monitor[ing] data and trends related to behavioral health.”[7]
Advises the Foundation’s Grant Oversight Committee, which may include helping the Committee to establish “a regular process for fiscal and outcome reporting and review for all funded projects in order to ensure grantee accountability and funding impact.”[8]
Though the Foundation, including the Board and Expert Panel, is required to “operate in a transparent manner” and has adopted a Transparency Policy,[9] its actual practices have faced substantial transparency-related criticism.[10]
The Board is required to meet at least four times each year but has consistently met more frequently (typically monthly).[11] The Expert Panel and the Board’s various committees are not required to meet at a specific frequency but also typically meet at least monthly. Upcoming Board, Expert Panel, and Board committee meetings are listed on the Foundation’s Events page; information about past Board meetings may be found on the Foundation’s Meetings page.
Is the state advisory body required to include member(s) with lived and/or living experience?
No. The OneOhio Recovery Foundation’s Board and the Expert Panel are not required to include member(s) with lived and/or living experience. However, the Foundation’s Code of Regulations includes “lived or shared experience with substance use disorder” among the desired “diversity in background and experience” of its Board directors.[12]
What is the overall membership of the state advisory body?
Board of Directors: The Foundation’s Board has 29 directors, including 19 regional directors, six statewide directors, and four legislative directors:[13]
The eight Metropolitan Regions and eleven Non-Metropolitan Regions each appoint one director.
The governor appoints five directors.
The state attorney general appoints one director.
The President of the Ohio Senate, Minority Leader of the Ohio Senate, Speaker of the Ohio House, and Minority leader of the Ohio House each appoint one director.
Directors must be “representative of the communities within the State of Ohio with respect to their diversity in background and experience, especially with respect to matters involving the Foundation’s Charitable Purposes.”[14] Excepting initial staggered terms, [15] directors serve two-year terms and may be reappointed.[16]
Expert Panel: The Expert Panel includes up to nine members, all of whom are ultimately appointed by the Board from candidates submitted by the Board’s regional directors (six members), governor (two members), and state attorney general (one member).[17] The Board may reject a candidate it finds “unsatisfactory” and request a new candidate be submitted.[18] While the Expert Panel uses experts to inform its efforts, members themselves are not required to possess any specific expertise. Expert Panel members may also serve as members of the Foundation’s Board, but this is not required.[19]
Expert Panel members are generally appointed to two-year terms and may be appointed to two consecutive terms.[20] The governor’s leading director / staff member on SUD serves as an ex-officio member of the Expert Panel,[21] and the Foundation’s executive director may appoint additional non-voting, ex-officio members “as necessary.”[22]
Executive Director: The Foundation’s executive director serves as a non-voting, ex-officio member of both the Board and Expert Panel.[23] The executive director is appointed by the governor from a list of candidates provided by the Board,[24] and the Board is required to select candidates with “at least six (6) years of experience in addiction, mental health and/or public health, and management experience in those fields.”[25]
Current Board directors, Expert Panel members, and Foundation staff are listed here.
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?
No (up to each locality). Local governments in Ohio are not required to establish opioid settlement advisory bodies. However, localities may choose to establish advisory councils that include members with lived and/or living experience to help ensure that settlement spending reflects community priorities.
What else should I know?
Ohio is divided into 19 regions for purposes of the OneOhio Recovery Foundation.[26] Each region must establish its own governance structure to ensure that local governments within the region “have input and equitable representation regarding regional decisions.”[27]
The Foundation’s Code of Regulations encourages regions “to incorporate diverse private sector involvement, including participation by … individuals with lived or shared experience with substance use disorder.”[28] Some regions’ governance structures have incorporated this recommendation by explicitly requiring or encouraging representation of individuals with lived experience.[29] However, reports suggest that individuals with documented lived or shared experience with SUD represent a small fraction of regional board members.[30]
The Foundation’s website includes information about each region,[31] including governance documents, board members, and meeting schedules.
Citations
OneOhio Recovery Foundation, Inc. Code of Regulations Sec. 7.01(b) (Sept. 14, 2022). ↑
The Expert Panel Policy fulfills the MOU’s requirement that the “Foundation’s procedures shall set forth the role of the Expert Panel and the Board in advising, determining, and/or approving disbursements of Opioid Funds for Approved Purposes by either the Board or the Regions.” OneOhio Memorandum of Understanding, Sec. D(11)(e). ↑
The Expert Panel may also “support development of grant RFPs and funding guidelines” and “assist the Board to identify and define evidence-based public and behavioral health prevention, treatment, and recovery initiatives.” OneOhio Recovery Foundation Expert Panel Policy, Sec. II(1)(a) (Dec. 13, 2023). ↑
Technical reviews are to determine if grant applications (1) “[r]eflect an established need”; (2) “[c]omply with the Evidence-Base Requirement”; (3) “[a]re consistent with one or more abatement strategies”; and (4) “[d]o not supplant existing funding.” OneOhio Recovery Foundation Expert Panel Policy, Sec. II(1)(a)(iii) (Dec. 13, 2023). ↑
OneOhio Recovery Foundation Expert Panel Policy, Sec. II(1)(b) (Dec. 13, 2023). The policy also states that the expert panel may “support the strategic planning process for the Foundation” and “identify and present on emerging threats.” Id. ↑
OneOhio Recovery Foundation Expert Panel Policy, Sec. II(1)(c) (Dec. 13, 2023). ↑
OneOhio Memorandum of Understanding, Sec. D(12); OneOhio Recovery Foundation, Inc. Code of Regulations, Secs. 3.06(f)-(g), 7.03 (Sept. 14, 2022); See also OneOhio Recovery Foundation Transparency Policy. Accessed September 1, 2024; OneOhio Foundation Expert Panel Policy, Sec. V(a) (Dec. 13, 2023). ↑
See, e.g., Cat Wise. How opioid settlement money led to a legal battle in Ohio. PBS News. August 1, 2023. Accessed September 1, 2024; Harm Reduction Ohio. Harm Reduction Ohio and OneOhio opioid settlement board reach settlement agreement in open meetings lawsuit. September 9, 2023. Accessed September 1, 2024. ↑
OneOhio Recovery Foundation, Inc. Code of Regulations, Sec. 3.01(c)(iii) (Sept. 14, 2022) (“Directors shall be individuals who: Are representative of the communities within the State of Ohio with respect to their diversity in background and experience, especially with respect to matters involving the Foundation’s Charitable Purposes, including, without limitation, … those with lived or shared experience with substance use disorder.” ↑
OneOhio Recovery Foundation, Inc. Code of Regulations, Sec. 3.01(c) (Sept. 14, 2022) (“including, without limitation, those with treatment, prevention and abatement expertise and those with lived or shared experience with substance use disorder, and/or bring competencies to the Board that assists the Foundation in the pursuit of its Charitable Purposes and mission”). Directors must also be at least 18 years old and “[s]upport the Charitable Purposes of the Foundation.” Id. ↑
OneOhio Recovery Foundation, Inc. Code of Regulations, Sec. 7.02(c) (Sept. 14, 2022); OneOhio Recovery Foundation Expert Panel Policy, Sec. IV(a)(iii) (Dec. 13, 2023). ↑
OneOhio Recovery Foundation Expert Panel Policy, Sec. IV(b) (Dec. 13, 2023). ↑
OneOhio Memorandum of Understanding Sec. D(1). ↑
OneOhio Memorandum of Understanding Sec. D(2). ↑
OneOhio Recovery Foundation, Inc. Code of Regulations, Sec. 3.02(d) (Sept. 14, 2022). ↑
See, e.g., By Laws of the Region 2 Foundation, Article II (providing for Board to include two individuals with lived experience”) (Aug. 10, 2022); The Bylaws of the OneOhio Region 1 Board of Governance, Article II Sec. 1 (“In considering stakeholder appointments, it is recommended that appointing authorities seek to obtain representation from … individuals with lived experiences”) (Mar. 27, 2023). ↑
Torria Catrone. Anonymous No More: OneOhio Regional Boards Revealed for First Time. Harm Reduction Ohio. June 26, 2023. Accessed July 3, 2024 (“Harm Reduction Ohio identified 274 regional board members among the total of 294 seats. Key findings: … 3% have documented lived or shared experience with opioid use and overdose”). ↑
Select one of 19 regions from the “Regions” drop-down menu at the top of the page. ↑
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