Trust reviews expense reports

Counties directed to provide more info on opioid settlement money spending

HOLLIDAYSBURG -- The state Opioid Misuse and Addiction Abatement Trust is directing many counties, including Blair, to provide more information about their spending of money from the National Opioid Settlement.

The trust, during a Thursday meeting at the Blair County Convention Center, reviewed a summary of expenses that most of the 67 counties filed in mid-March for about 370 projects.

While the trust approved about 55% of the submissions, chairman Thomas VanKirk said that leaves "a tremendous number" to be returned to the counties for more information and subject to review at the trust's next meeting in June.

The trustees also denied a few spending reports, including one that proposed using settlement dollars for a program to combat underage drinking. The trust members ruled out that spending because they said the settlement dollars are to be spent on addressing the opioid epidemic.

When the trust reviewed Blair County's settlement spending report, it showed the county assigning $322,733 for support of its Drug Court program and an additional $10,715 for a student drug abuse prevention program administered by Blair County Drug & Alcohol Partnerships.

In both cases, the trust will be notifying the county that it wants more information.

When the Altoona Mirror asked in March for more information about the county's spending of $322,733 in settlement funds, it was advised that $304,384 covered employee salaries and benefits, $7,168 paid for half the operational cost of the parole office satellite building and $7,132 was spent on drug testing kits, four cellphones and vehicle expenses.

State Rep. Jim Gregory, R-Blair, who was appointed to sit on the trust by the House Republican Caucus, said the actions the trust took Thursday should give Blair and other counties sufficient time to submit more information and get their projects approved.

He also referenced a symposium the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania held on Wednesday at the convention center, where county leaders shared information on how they're spending their settlement dollars.

"That provided a lot of imaginative ways to apply those settlement dollars and make the best impact on Blair County," Gregory said.

During Thursday's trust meeting, several of the counties, including Clearfield County, indicated in their mid-March reports that they devoted settlement money for introducing or expanding Medication-Assisted Treatment for county prison inmates with drug addictions. The trustees generally approved that spending, but asked for more details from Lebanon County that assigned $1.9 million toward its prison MAT program.

Trustee members also complimented Berks and Delaware counties for supporting their mid-March reports with information, including contracts that showed exactly what their settlement money covered.

Other county reports showed settlement money to be used for vending machines with anti-overdose medication, housing improvements, mobile methadone programs, equestrian therapy, prevention advertisements, educational programs and training and education for addiction counselors.

Altoona resident Marianne Sinisi, who attended Thursday's meeting, said she was disappointed by the list of programs put forth by the counties.

"Not one of those programs was a grief program for the families who have lost someone," she said. "Not one of those programs will help a parent bury a child. This is supposed to be a victims' settlement, but where's the help for the victims?"

The trust doesn't set aside time for public comment at its meetings but directs those with comments to take them to their county commissioners.

VanKirk said the role of the trust is to see that the counties are spending the settlement money as allowed.

"It's not our job to tell the counties how they have to spend their money," he added.

When Blair County commissioners recently held a public meeting to hear requests for use of settlement money, Sinisi was among those asking for funds. She proposed an expansion of the Circle of Hope Garden along Union Avenue, a project she and other parents created to help those struggling with substance use disorder in addition to parents and families grieving for loved ones who died.

According to information presented to the trust, Blair County is also among the counties expected to file another spending report, by June 15 detailing its use or intended use of $242,698. The trust identified that amount as the county's remaining settlement money based on distributions through December 2022 -- for spending within 18 months.

While a few counties filed no reports on their settlement funds, members of the trust indicated that they would be reaching out to those counties and offering assistance before their June 20 meeting in Harrisburg.

"It's a terrible, terrible problem this country has been going through," VanKirk said. "We'd like to see this money spent as soon as possible."

Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 814-946-7456.