Opioid Abatement Grant Application

In 2020, the Oklahoma Legislature enacted House Bill 4138, the Political Subdivisions Opioid Abatement Grants Act, creating the Oklahoma Opioid Abatement Board oversight body for the distribution of opioid settlement funds. Section 2of the Act provides the Legislature’s purpose, which is “to promote and protect the health of Oklahomans by using monetary grants to abate the opioid crisis in a comprehensive manner that includes cooperation and collaboration with political subdivisions.” 74 O.S.2021, § 30.4. All monetary grants provided by the Opioid Abatement Board shall be considered “opioid grant awards” as defined in 74 O.S.2021, § 30.5(6).

Section 5 of the Act requires the Board to ensure that political subdivisions expend grant award proceeds only for approved purposes. 

Priority strategies adopted by the Board for 2025 grant applications were identified through a review of best practices for opioid abatement informed by the National Association of Counties (NACo), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s Evidence-Based Practices Resource Center, and other registries of evidence-based practices and research-based opioid abatement guidance. The selected priorities conform with Exhibit E of the 2022 National Opioid Settlements and Oklahoma’s statutorily approved purposes. The prioritized practices are informed by Oklahoma Opioid Abatement Board member recommendations, which include focusing on strategies 1) in observed need of adoption/scaling in Oklahoma; 2) reasonably expected to be implemented effectively by grantees and produce outcomes during the project period; and 3) representing both preventive and treatment options.

Applicants may submit proposals based on the following set of Board-approved Priority Strategies:

• Contingency Management – a substance use disorder treatment approach that rewards clients for treatment and recovery-oriented behaviors like negative drug screening results, adherence to medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), and attendance and engagement in group therapy.  
• Family Skills Training – programs that can shape youth behavior and create stronger family relationships, reducing the risk of youth substance use, including opioids.  
• Integrated Care – integrated care models combine physical health care with mental health and substance use care, emphasizing collaboration among a multidisciplinary team.
• Medications for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) – the front-line, evidence-based approach for treatment of people with opioid use disorder that uses FDA-approved medications often in combination with comprehensive support services like medical care, mental health treatment, addiction counseling, and recovery support.  
• Naloxone Distribution – Naloxone is a safe, highly effective medication used to reverse opioid overdoses and save lives.  It works by blocking the effects of opioids to quickly restore breathing to someone overdosing.
• School-based Prevention – involves coordinated, evidence-based strategies delivered at schools to prevent or reduce the risk of developing problem behaviors, such as substance use, while promoting protective factors that promote student well-being, health, and academic success.
• Supported Employment – an evidence-based model of supported employment helps people with behavioral health conditions find and sustain employment at jobs of their choice.
• Supported Housing – providing access to safe and stable housing to support people with substance use issues as they start and sustain long-term recovery.
• Other Evidence-based Strategies – another evidence-based strategy that does not fall into one of the named priority strategies may be proposed by an applicant with required justification as determined by the Board.  

The total population or enrollment for applicants that are public trusts solely benefiting one or more eligible participants shall be eligible based on the subdivision(s) they benefit.

Completed applications will be reviewed by Office of the Attorney General (“OAG”) staff for compliance checks and presentation to the Opioid Abatement Board. Board members will be provided with all applications prior to any action being taken. OAG staff may also make recommendations to the Board regarding applications. The Board may invite political subdivisions to speak on behalf of their application at a Board meeting. Applications must be accompanied by a resolution or equivalent governmental action from the political subdivision authorizing the application, as well as setting forth how the funds shall be used or expended.

In the event a political subdivision wishes to appeal a grant disbursement decision, the applicant may appeal in writing to the Board within twenty (20) days of notification of a grant disbursement decision. A political subdivision may appeal the denial of a grant application or the denial of a specific fund use request. The political subdivision will be allowed to present its appeal to the Board, which shall have to power to amend or affirm the disbursement decision following the hearing. All hearings will be recorded and are not subject to further review. Board decisions regarding partial funding may not be appealed.

Section 7 of the Act requires the Board to maintain oversight over the expenditure of award proceeds. Therefore, all recipients of opioid grant proceeds are required to file, at a minimum,  quarterly reports to the Board by filing them with the Office of the Attorney General. Quarterly reports are due by the last day of the month immediately following the conclusion of a quarter. Quarters align with the calendar year.

Additionally, Section 7 of the Act requires the Board to take immediate action if a recipient expends award proceeds on non-approved purposes. Such immediate action may include grant suspension and/or suspension of award proceeds until the Board has received information to demonstrate that the recipient has adequately remedied the cause for such suspension. Remedial action may include refunding the Board in an amount equal to the funds used for unapproved purposes. Material misrepresentations made in the application may result in the filing of criminal actions against any individuals related to the submission of the application for a grant award. Knowingly making a false statement or claim in connection with this grant and as a part of any State investigation is a violation of law and may result in criminal or other sanctions, including fines, imprisonment, damages and penalties. 21 O.S.2021, §§ 281, 358.

YOUR SUBMISSION AS WELL AS ANY CORRESPONDENCE, INCLUDING ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS, TO THE OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OR THE OKLAHOMA OPIOID ABATEMENT BOARD CONSTITUTE RECORDS UNDER THE OPEN RECORDS ACT, 51 O.S.2021, § 24A.1 et seq. IF THE OFFICE OR BOARD RECEIVES A REQUEST FOR RECORDS SUBMITTED PURSUANT TO THE POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS OPIOID ABATEMENT GRANTS ACT, BE ADVISED THAT NOTHING UNDER THIS ACT NOR THE OPEN RECORDS ACT MAKES YOUR SUBMISSION(S) OR CORRESPONDENCE PRIVILEGED OR CONFIDENTIAL. AS A RESULT, ALL RECORDS RECEIVED ARE PRODUCIBLE IF THEY FALL WITHIN THE SCOPE OF A REQUEST.

The Political Subdivisions Opioid Abatement Grants Act does not authorize sub-granting. Ultimately, the political subdivisions will be held responsible for any misspent or misappropriated grant award proceeds.

The Office of the Attorney General will hold accountable anyone who uses grant award proceeds for nonapproved purposes (see “Consequences for Improper Use”). Accordingly, eligible participants applying for a grant award should ensure that they implement sufficient safeguards to prevent misspending or misappropriation of the grant award proceeds.

All asterisked fields are required, unless noted otherwise. To the extent additional space is needed to answer application questions, please upload responses to the application attachment repository, identifying on each document the question with which they correspond, as well as the text of the question for clarity.

Each grant application will be scored based on a rubric with point values assigned to each proposal. Applications receiving the highest number of points will receive funding until funds are exhausted. Proposals will be given an overall score from 1-5 based on use of evidence-based practices, addressing local needs, development of a solid implementation plan, community collaboration, and evaluation and sustainability strategy. If the applicant received prior opioid abatement grant funds, their demonstrated capacity (or lack thereof) to ensure timely compliance with all reporting requirements may be considered. Successful applications will demonstrate a strong plan for abatement of the opioid epidemic within the respective community and align with the statutorily approved purposes. 

Applications for opioid abatement grant awards must be submitted to the online application portal for the Office of the Attorney General no later than June 13, 2025 at 11:59 pm. Applications must be complete, with all required supporting documentation uploaded, to be considered received.