Opioid-settlement money goes local

Opioid-settlement money is moving out of courthouse accounts and into city and county operations, with Baltimore and Wisconsin mapping out how to spend tens of millions now. (wypr.org) Baltimore said on April 21 and 22 that it had spent about $13 million from its Opioid Restitution Fund and already allocated more than $122 million for future use. The city also launched a public dashboard alongside its first annual report covering July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025. (baltimorecity.gov) (wypr.org) Sara Whaley, Baltimore’s director of overdose response, told WYPR the city spent 2025 “building that infrastructure” after the money arrived. WYPR reported that the $122 million already allocated includes $87 million tied to court-approved programs such as 988 and the Enoch Pratt Free Library’s peer navigator program, nearly $30 million for city agencies, and $2 million in community grants. (wypr.org) Wisconsin’s Department of Health Services announced a two-year, $31 million plan on April 9, using $14.5 million received in 2025 and about $16.5 million due in 2026. The agency said the money will support prevention, treatment, recovery services, overdose-response work, and efforts to limit infectious-disease spread. (dhs.wisconsin.gov) (wpr.org) The Wisconsin plan breaks the money into operating buckets instead of a single statewide project. The largest shares are $9 million for the state’s 11 Tribal nations, $6.5 million for room and board for Medicaid members in residential substance use treatment, $3.5 million for overdose and infectious-disease prevention, and $3 million for prevention work in schools and community agencies. (dhs.wisconsin.gov) (wpr.org) That spending pattern reflects how settlement money is increasingly being treated: less as one-time grant cash and more as a way to keep referral systems, treatment slots, outreach teams, and public reporting running. Baltimore’s dashboard requirement dates to Mayor Brandon Scott’s August 29, 2024 executive order creating the fund, and Wisconsin said its latest plan was shaped by surveys, listening sessions, and program data. (baltimorecity.gov) (dhs.wisconsin.gov) The money comes from nationwide settlements with opioid manufacturers, distributors, and pharmacies, and the payouts stretch for years. Wisconsin said roughly $794 million is coming to the state and participating local governments over time, while Baltimore said it secured nearly $600 million through its litigation. (dhs.wisconsin.gov) (wypr.org) The public-health backdrop is still severe even where deaths have fallen. Wisconsin said opioid overdose deaths dropped 42.5% from 1,422 in 2023 to 817 in 2024, while Baltimore said it recently raised its long-term target from a 40% reduction in overdose deaths to 50% over 15 years. (dhs.wisconsin.gov) (wypr.org) What happens next is less about announcing settlement totals than showing where the money lands. In both Baltimore and Wisconsin, officials are now publishing line items, timelines, and program categories that residents can track as the next rounds of payments arrive. (baltimorecity.gov) (dhs.wisconsin.gov)