Guidance Letters to Cities and Counties
Opioid Settlements
California Abatement Accounts Fund
Pursuant to the California State-Subdivision Agreements, allocations from the CA Abatement Accounts Fund must be expended on future opioid remediation activities focused on prevention, intervention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery services in California communities. The CA Abatement Accounts Funds will be used for future Opioid Remediation in one or more of the areas described in the List of Opioid Remediation Uses, which is Exhibit E to the National Opioid Settlement Agreements. For more information on allowable expenditures, review the BHIN 24-002 and the California Opioid Settlements Allowable Expenditures resource.
California High Impact Abatement Activities (HIAA)
California state officials, in partnership with counsel representing cities and counties, further agreed on a list of opioid remediation activities to prioritize within the State of California. These priorities are referred to as High Abatement Activities (HIAA). CA Abatement Accounts Fund expenditures must meet Exhibit E, and no less than 50% of the funds received by a CA Participating Subdivision from the CA Abatement Accounts Fund in each calendar year will be used for one or more of the following HIAA listed in Table 1 below. More information about California's HIAA can be found in DHCS BHIN 24-002.
Table 1. List of High Impact Abatement Activities
No.
| Activity
|
1
| The provision of matching funds or operating costs
for substance use disorder (SUD) facilities within the Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program (BHCIP)
|
2
| Creating new or expanded SUD treatment infrastructure
|
3
| Addressing the needs of communities of color and vulnerable populations (including sheltered and unsheltered homeless populations) that are disproportionately impacted by SUD
|
4
| Diversion of people with SUD from the justice system into
treatment, including by providing training and resources to first and early
responders (sworn and non-sworn) and implementing best practices for outreach,
diversion and deflection, employability, restorative justice, and harm
reduction
|
5
| Interventions to prevent drug addiction in vulnerable youth
|
California Subdivision Fund
Pursuant to the California State-Subdivision
Agreements, allocations from the CA Subdivision Fund shall be used to fund
future opioid remediation projects and reimburse past opioid-related expenses,
which may include fees and expenses related to litigation against a relevant
Opioid Defendant. DHCS encourages Plaintiff Subdivisions receiving allocations
from the CA Subdivision Fund to review the list of eligible opioid remediation
activities and strategies in Exhibit E of the National Opioid Settlement Agreements. For
more information on the use and reporting requirements for funds received from
the California Subdivision Fund, Participating Subdivisions can review BHIN 24-003.
Opioid Bankruptcies
Local Government Share
Local Government allocations from the Mallinckrodt Bankruptcy must be expended on opioid remediation activities focused on prevention, intervention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery services in California communities. Local Governments can find the list of eligible opioid remediation activities and strategies in Exhibit 4 of the Mallinckrodt Bankruptcy Plan (otherwise known as Exhibit E in the National Opioid Settlement Agreements). For more information on allowable expenditures and reporting requirements, Local Governments can review the California Mallinckrodt Statewide Abatement Agreement and the California Opioid Bankruptcies Fact Sheet.
