HomeMy WebLinkAboutPR 24287: RECEIPT OF 3RD DISTRIBUTION FROM THE OPIOID ABATEMENT TRUST FUND AND AUTHORIZING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AN OPIOID REVIEW BOARD City of
IIli � it
art rtlru�_
Texas
INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM
Date: May 15, 2025
To: Mayor Thurman Bartie, Honorable City Council, and City Manager Ronald Burton.
From: Toria N Rotibi, Internal Contracts Specialist
RE: PR: 24287- A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PORT
ARTHUR, TEXAS, ACKNOWLEDGING THE RECEIPT OF THE THIRD DISTRIBUTION
FROM THE OPIOID ABATEMENT TRUST FUND AND AUTHORIZING THE
ESTABLISHMENT OF AN OPIOID REVIEW BOARD
Background:The City of Port Arthur has received settlement funds from the Opioid Abatement
Trust Fund due to ongoing litigation and settlements involving drug manufacturers,distributors,
and affiliates accused of fraudulent and reckless marketing and distribution of opioids.
On May 13, 2020, the State of Texas, through the Office of the Attorney General and in
collaboration with a negotiating group representing Texas political subdivisions, established the
"Texas Opioid Abatement Fund Council"(OAFC)to oversee the allocation of opioid settlement
funds statewide.
Prior City Council Actions
1. PR.22173- A RESOLUTION ADOPTING THE ALLOCATION METHOD FOR
OPIOID SETTLEMENT PROCEEDS AS SET FORTH IN THE STATE OF TEXAS
AND TEXAS POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS' OPIOID ABATEMENT FUND
COUNCIL AND SETTLEMENT ALLOCATION TERM SHEET AS IT PERTAINS
TO CERTAIN DRUG COMPANIES AND THEIR CORPORATE AFFILIATES,
PARENTS, SUBSIDIARIES.
2. Memorandum: The Opioid Crisis (See attached)
3. PR 24058- A RESOLUTION INFORMING THE CITY COUNCIL AND THE
CITIZENS OF PORT ARTHUR,TEXAS, OF THE SUBMISSION OF THE TEXAS
OPIOID SETTLEMENT SUBDIVISION PARTICIPATION AND RELEASE
FORM PURSUANT TO THE KROGER TEXAS SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT
AND FULL RELEASE OF ALL CLAIMS.
City Council Inquiries and Responses
1. Is this the third distribution?
• Yes. The Trust Company disburses settlement funds pursuant to Texas
Government Code Chapter 403, Subchapter R, including § 403.506(c)(1). On
April 1, 2025, the City received a direct deposit of$109,624.43 as its 2025
allocation. This disbursement includes funds eligible for application through
the Texas Opioid Abatement Fund, which is governed by the OAFC
2. What happened to the previous distributions?
"Remember,we are here to serve the Citizens of Port Arthur"
• P.O.Box 1089 X Port Arthur,Texas 77641-1089 X 409.983.8182 X FAX 409.983.8294
• March 2023: Received $115,505.86 (15% direct allocation), required to be
used for expenditures with an opioid nexus.
• December 2024: Received $142,814.71 from the Kroger Texas Settlement.
• All distributions have been deposited into the designated Opioid Abatement
account, established in 2023. The FY25 appropriation was $137,000. As of
this memorandum, the account balance is $367,945.54.
3. Why wasn't this board created when the City received the first distribution? ,
• At the time of the initial distribution, the establishment of a review board was
not required. A memorandum was provided to the Council on June 8, 2023,
detailing the permissible uses of the funds and proposing a Health Department
program. However, the Health Department was in transition to a new facility,
and expenditures were deferred to ensure program compliance with
remediation guidelines.
• In 2024, the OAFC issued new guidance. Pursuant to Rule § 16.206, grant
recipients must establish a peer review panel to provide independent
evaluations of grant applications. Each City council member shall be allowed
to recommend one person to the review board. The panel mitigates conflicts
of interest and supports the Council's final decision-making authority, as
outlined in Rule § 16.208.
Next Steps and Timeline
• There is no statutory deadline for fund expenditure or review board
establishment. However, the Council may adopt a timeline to promote
transparency and timely implementation.
Amendments to the Proposed Resolution 24287
In 2024,the Texas Opioid Abatement Fund Council(OAFC)adopted Rule§ 16.206,which
required the establishment of an Opioid Review Board.
1. The original resolution presented on May 6, 2025,to the City Council stated:
• "Section 3. The City Council hereby authorizes the creation of the Opioid
Review Board, which shall be composed of five members recommended by the
City Manager, including representatives from public health, law enforcement,
community services, and other relevant stakeholders."
2. The proposed resolution attached includes the following amendment:
• "Section 3. The City Council hereby authorizes the creation of the Opioid
Review Board, which shall be composed of seven members recommended by
the City Council. Each City Council member shall be allowed to recommend
one person to the review board. The review board shall include representatives
from public health, law enforcement, community services, and other relevant
stakeholders.The panel mitigates conflicts of interest and supports the Council's
final decision-making authority, as outlined in Rules § 16.206 and § 16.208."
"Remember,we are here to serve the Citizens of Port Arthur"
P.O.Box 1089 X Port Arthur,Texas 77641-1089 X 409.983.8182 X FAX 409.983.8294
TNR
THE OPIOID CRISIS
Background:
Drug use and drug overdoses remain a critical public health issue across Texas and are now
the leading causes of injury and death. The United States has faced an opioid crisis since the mid-
1990s, with opioids significantly impacting public health and the nation's economic and social
outcomes. Although federal funding to address the opioid crisis has increased in recent years,
opioid overdose mortality has also risen. Deaths from opioid-involved overdoses ranked among
the leading causes of death in 2020, increasing by over 30%during the pandemic.
Recently,the City of Port Arthur received a long-awaited allocation of settlement funding
to combat the opioid crisis within our city. The funding must be spent on programs with an opioid
nexus(a past or future expenditure related to opioids).
Allowable expenditures for settlement funds for opioid remediation must include activities
tied to ending,reducing,or lessening the effects of the opioid epidemic in communities,and should
encompass prevention, intervention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery services. Opioid
remediation activities include those listed in Exhibit E of the settlement agreements and primarily
feature treatment and prevention, as well as additional strategies such as planning, coordination,
and research. The settlement agreements define opioid remediation as "care, treatment, and other
programs and expenditures designed to (1) address the misuse and abuse of opioid products, (2)
treat or mitigate opioid use or related disorders, or (3) mitigate other alleged effects of, including
on those injured as a result of, the opioid epidemic."
When determining fund allocation for an entity or program, the City should consider the
following: 1. How does this activity aid opioid remediation in the community? 2. Is there an
alternative activity that could more effectively achieve opioid remediation? 3. Does this activity
align with a High Impact Abatement Activity, since 50% of funding must be on one of these? 4.
Does this activity enhance existing community efforts in prevention,treatment,recovery, or harm
reduction? 5. Is the strategy supported by evidence, and how strong is the research backing it?
Exhibit E of the settlement agreements outlines activities that are prohibited,including,but
not limited to: funding salaries and benefits for individuals not engaged in opioid remediation
efforts; exceeding administrative and indirect costs beyond ten (10) percent of the Participating
Subdivision's total yearly allocation; financing law enforcement activities aimed at interdiction or
criminal processing; covering costs for non-FDA-approved medications related to substance use
disorders(SUD)or mental health issues; spending on medications,medical services,or equipment
unrelated to SUD or mental health treatment (e.g., automated external defibrillators (AEDs), first
aid kits, extrication gear, gloves); developing infrastructure or investing in equipment that does
not directly support prevention, treatment, harm reduction, or recovery services; and funding,
investing in, or conducting service activities not specified in Exhibit E or expenses unrelated to
opioid remediation efforts. You can find allowable activities in Exhibit E of the settlement
agreements. This exhibit is divided into Schedule A (Core Strategies) and Schedule B (Approved
Uses). The attached Schedule B contains a comprehensive list of all approved uses.
1
TNR
June 8,2023
"Opioid Litigation Proceeds"Policy
In Port Arthur, drug overdoses continue to devastate our residents and communities and
strain government resources. Opioid overdose rates have risen in Port Arthur and across Texas
since the pandemic began in 2020. In response to the crisis the City of Port Arthur has developed
an opioid prevention policy,which with the help of local entities are working to prevent addiction.
The stated overall goal of this policy is to take on the opioid crisis by expanding access to
prevention, early intervention, and treatment, along with providing long term recovery support to
the citizens of Port Arthur with opioid use disorder.
The purpose ofthe"Opioid Crisis"Policy is to ensure that proceeds received by this City pursuant
to the Texas Attorney Generals Office are allocated and spent on City substance use disorder
abatement infrastructure, programs, services, supports, and resources for prevention, treatment,
recovery, and harm reduction; and to ensure robust public involvement, accountability, and
transparency in allocating and accounting for the monies in the Fund.
Addressing substance use disorders, overdoses, and drug-related harms will require dedicated
resources and many years. Directing opioid litigation proceeds to establish, sustain, and expand
substance use disorder abatement infrastructure, programs, services, supports, and resources for
prevention, treatment, recovery, and harm reduction in Port Arthur will represent a critically
important down payment on the work to be done.
Permissible expenditures. Monies in the Fund shall be spent only for the folio wing substance
use disorder abatement purposes, upon the approval of the Council:
1. [TREATMENT]: Addiction can be managed successfully, and treatment enables people
to counteract addiction's powerful disruptive effects on the brain and behavior and regain
control of their lives. Support treatment of Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) and any co-
occurring substance use disorder or Mental Health (SUD/MH)conditions through evidence-
based or evidence-informed programs or strategies that may include, but are not limited to,
the follo wing:
A. TREAT OPIOID USE DISORDER
i. Expand availability of treatment for OUD and any co-occurring
SUD/MH conditions, including all forms of Medication-Assisted
Treatment ("MAT") approved by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration.
ii. Support mobile intervention, treatment, and recovery services, offered
by qualified professionals and service providers, such as peer recovery
coaches, for persons with OUD and any co-occurring SUD/MH
conditions and for persons who have experienced an opioid overdose.
iii. Support evidence-based withdrawal management services for people
with OUD and any co-occurring mental health conditions.
iv. Support workforce development for addiction professionals who work
with persons with OUD and any co-occurring SUD/MH conditions.
B. SUPPORT PEOPLE IN TREATMENT AND RECOVERY
Support people in recovery from OUD and any co-occurring SUD/MH
conditions through evidence-based or evidence-informed programs or
3
TNR
June 8,2023
strategies that may include, but are not limited to, the programs or strategies
that:
i. Provide comprehensive wrap-around services to individuals with OUD
and any co-occurring SUD/MH conditions, including housing,
transportation, education,job placement,job training,or childcare.
ii. Provide the full continuum of care of treatment and recovery services
for OUD and any co-occurring SUD/MH conditions, including
supportive housing, peer support services and counseling, community
navigators, case management, and connections to community-based
services.
iii. Support stigma reduction efforts regarding treatment and support for
persons with OUD, including reducing the stigma on effective
treatment.
iv. Provide community support services, including social and legal
services, to assist in deinstitutionalizing persons with OUD and any co-
occurring SUD/MH conditions.
v. Support or expand peer-recovery centers, which may include support
groups, social events, computer access, or other services for persons
with OUD and any co-occurring SUD/MH conditions.
C. CONNECT PEOPLE WHO NEED HELP TO THE HELP THEY NEED
Provide connections to care for people who have—or are at risk of
developing-0 U D and any co-occurring SUD/MH conditions through
evidence-based or evidence-informed programs or strategies that may include,
but are not limited to,those that:
i. Ensure that health care providers are screening for OUD and other risk
factors and know how to appropriately counsel and treat (or refer if
necessary)a patient for OUD tire atment.
ii. Fund SBIRT programs to reduce the transition from use to disorders,
including SBIRT services to pregnant women who are uninsured or not
eligible for Medicaid.
iii. Provide training and long-term implementation of SBIRT in key
systems(health,schools,colleges,criminal justice,and probation),with
a focus on youth and young adults when transition from misuse to opioid
disorder is common.
iv. Purchase automated versions of SBIRT and support ongoing costs of
the technology.
v. Expand services such as navigators and on-call teams to begin MAT in
hospital emergency departments.
vi. Provide training for emergency room personnel treating opioid
overdose patients on post-discharge planning, including community
referrals for MAT, recovery case management or support services.
vii. Support hospital programs that transition persons with OUD and any
co-occurring SUD/MH conditions,or persons who have experienced an
opioid overdose, into clinically appropriate follo w-up care through a
bridge clinic or similar approach.
4
TNR
June 8,2023
viii. Support crisis stabilization centers that serve as an alternative to hospital
emergency departments for persons with OUD and any co-occurring
SUD/MI-I conditions or persons that have experienced an opioid
overdose.
ix. Support the work of Emergency Medical Systems, including peer
support specialists, to connect individuals to treatment or other
appropriate services following an opioid overdose or other opioid-
related adverse event.
x. Provide funding for peer support specialists or recovery coaches in
emergency departments, detox facilities, recovery centers, recovery
housing, or similar settings; offer services, supports, or connections to
care to persons with OUD and any co-occurring SUD/MH conditions or
to persons who have experienced an opioid overdose.
2. [PREVENTION]: Programs, services, supports, and resources for evidence-based
substance use disorder prevention, treatment, recovery, or harm reduction; Evidence-
informed substance use disorder prevention, treatment, recovery, or harm reduction pilot
programs or demonstration studies that are not evidence-based but are approved by the
Council as an appropriate use of monies for a limited period of time as specified by the
Council; In considering evidence-informed pilot programs and demonstration studies, the
Council shall assess whether the emerging evidence supports distribution of monies for such
uses, or otherwise whether there is a reasonable basis for funding such uses with the
expectation of creating an evidence base for such uses; Support efforts to prevent over-
prescribing and ensure appropriate prescribing and dispensing of opioids through evidence-
based or evidence-informed programs or strategies that may include, but are not limited to,
the following:
A. PREVENT OVER-PRESCRIBING AND ENSURE APPROPRIATE
PRESCRIBING AND DISPENSING OF OPIOIDS
i. Funding medical provider education and outreach regarding best
prescribing practices for opioids consistent with the Guidelines for
Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain from the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, including providers at hospitals (academic
detailing).
ii. Training for health care providers regarding safe and responsible opioid
prescribing,dosing,and tapering patients off opioids.
iii. Continuing Medical Education (CME) on appropriate prescribing of
opioids.
iv. Providing Support for non-opioid pain treatment alternatives, including
training providers to offer or refer to multi-modal, evidence-informed
treatment of pain.
B. PREVENT OVERDOSE DEATHS AND OTHER HARMS (HARM
REDUCTION)
5
TNR
June 8,2023
Support efforts to prevent or reduce overdose deaths or other opioid-related
harms through evidence-based or evidence-informed programs or strategies that
may include, but are not limited to,the follo wing:
i. Increased availability and distribution of naloxone and other drugs that treat
overdoses for first responders,overdose patients, individuals with OUD and
their friends and family members, schools, community navigators and
outreach workers, persons being released from jail or prison, or other
members of the general public.
ii. Public health entities providing free naloxone to anyone in the community.
iii. Training and education regarding naloxone and other drugs that treat
overdoses for first responders, overdose patients, patients taking opioids,
families, schools, community support groups, and other members of the
general public.
iv. Enabling school nurses and other school staff to respond to opioid
overdoses,and provide them with naloxone,training, and support.
v. Expanding, improving, or developing data tracking software and
applications for overdoses/naloxone revivals.
vi. Public education relating to emergency responses to overdoses.
vii. Syringe service programs and other evidence-informed programs to reduce
harms associated with intravenous drug use, including supplies, staffing,
space, peer support services, referrals to treatment, fentanyl checking,
connections to care, and the full range of harm reduction and treatment
services provided by these programs.
C. LEADERSHIP, PLANNING AND COORDINATION
Infrastructure required for evidence-based substance use disorder prevention,
treatment, recovery, or harm reduction programs, services, and supports; In
addition to the training referred to throughout this document, support training to
abate the opioid epidemic through activities, programs, or strategies that may
include, but are not limited to,those that: Infrastructure may include: [list];
i. Provide funding for staff training or networking programs and services to
improve the capability of government,community,and not-for-profit entities
to abate the opioid crisis.
ii. Support infrastructure and staffing for collaborative cross-system
coordination to prevent opioid misuse, prevent overdoses, and treat those
with OUD and any co-occurring SUD/MH conditions, or implement other
strategies to abate the opioid epidemic described in this opioid abatement
strategy list(e.g., health care, primary care, pharmacies, PDM Ps, etc.).
6
Schedule B
Approved Uses
Support treatment of Opioid Use Disorder(OUD)and any co-occurring Substance Use Disorder
or Mental Health (SUD/MH) conditions through evidence-based or evidence-informed programs
or strategies that may include, but are not limited to, the following:
PART ONE: TREATMENT
A. TREAT OPIOID USE DISORDER(OUD)
Support treatment of Opioid Use Disorder("OUD") and any co-occurring Substance Use
Disorder or Mental Health ("SUD/MH")conditions through evidence-based or evidence-
informed programs or strategies that may include, but are not limited to, those that:15
1. Expand availability of treatment for OUD and any co-occurring SUD/MH
conditions, including all forms of Medication-Assisted Treatment("MAT')
approved by the U.S.Food and Drug Administration.
2. Support and reimburse evidence-based services that adhere to the American
Society of Addiction Medicine ("ASAM")continuum of care for OUD and any co-
occurring SUD/MH conditions.
3. Expand telehealth to increase access to treatment for OUD and any co-occurring
SUD/MH conditions, including MAT, as well as counseling, psychiatric support,
and other treatment and recovery support services.
4. Improve oversight of Opioid Treatment Programs ("OTPs")to assure evidence-
based or evidence-informed practices such as adequate methadone dosing and low
threshold approaches to treatment.
5. Support mobile intervention, treatment, and recovery services, offered by
qualified professionals and service providers, such as peer recovery coaches, for
persons with OUD and any co-occurring SUD/MH conditions and for persons
who have experienced an opioid overdose.
6. Provide treatment of trauma for individuals with OUD (e.g., violence, sexual
assault, human trafficking, or adverse childhood experiences) and family
members (e.g., surviving family members after an overdose or overdose fatality),
and training of health care personnel to identify and address such trauma.
7. Support evidence-based withdrawal management services for people with OUD
and any co-occurring mental health conditions.
15 As used in this Schedule B,words like"expand,""fund,""provide"or the like shall not indicate a preference for
new or existing programs.
8. Provide training on MAT for health care providers, first responders, students,or
other supporting professionals, such as peer recovery coaches or recovery
outreach specialists, including telementoring to assist community-based providers
in rural or underserved areas.
9. Support workforce development for addiction professionals who work with
persons with OUD and any co-occurring SUD/MH conditions.
10. Offer fellowships for addiction medicine specialists for direct patient care,
instructors, and clinical research for treatments.
11. Offer scholarships and supports for behavioral health practitioners or workers
involved in addressing OUD and any co-occurring SUD/MH or mental health
conditions, including, but not limited to, training, scholarships, fellowships, loan
repayment programs, or other incentives for providers to work in rural or
underserved areas.
12. Provide funding and training for clinicians to obtain a waiver under the federal
Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000 ("DATA 2000")to prescribe MAT for
OUD, and provide technical assistance and professional support to clinicians who
have obtained a DATA 2000 waiver.
13. Disseminate of web-based training curricula, such as the American Academy of
Addiction Psychiatry's Provider Clinical Support Service—Opioids web-based
training curriculum and motivational interviewing.
14. Develop and disseminate new curricula, such as the American Academy of
Addiction Psychiatry's Provider Clinical Support Service for Medication—
Assisted Treatment.
B. SUPPORT PEOPLE IN TREATMENT AND RECOVERY
Support people in recovery from OUD and any co-occurring SUD/MH conditions
through evidence-based or evidence-informed programs or strategies that may include,
but are not limited to, the programs or strategies that:
1. Provide comprehensive wrap-around services to individuals with OUD and any
co-occurring SUD/MH conditions, including housing,transportation, education,
job placement,job training, or childcare.
2. Provide the full continuum of care of treatment and recovery services for OUD
and any co-occurring SUD/MH conditions, including supportive housing,peer
support services and counseling, community navigators, case management, and
connections to community-based services.
3. Provide counseling, peer-support, recovery case management and residential
treatment with access to medications for those who need it to persons with OUD
and any co-occurring SUD/MH conditions.
4. Provide access to housing for people with OUD and any co-occurring SUD/MH
conditions, including supportive housing, recovery housing, housing assistance
programs,training for housing providers, or recovery housing programs that allow
or integrate FDA-approved mediation with other support services.
5. Provide community support services, including social and legal services, to assist
in deinstitutionalizing persons with OUD and any co-occurring SUD/MH
conditions.
6. Support or expand peer-recovery centers, which may include support groups,
social events, computer access, or other services for persons with OUD and any
co-occurring SUD/MH conditions.
7. Provide or support transportation to treatment or recovery programs or services
for persons with OUD and any co-occurring SUD/MH conditions.
8. Provide employment training or educational services for persons in treatment for
or recovery from OUD and any co-occurring SUD/MH conditions.
9. Identify successful recovery programs such as physician, pilot, and college
recovery programs, and provide support and technical assistance to increase the
number and capacity of high-quality programs to help those in recovery.
10. Engage non-profits, faith-based communities, and community coalitions to
support people in treatment and recovery and to support family members in their
efforts to support the person with OUD in the family.
11. Provide training and development of procedures for government staff to
appropriately interact and provide social and other services to individuals with or
in recovery from OUD, including reducing stigma.
12. Support stigma reduction efforts regarding treatment and support for persons with
OUD, including reducing the stigma on effective treatment.
13. Create or support culturally appropriate services and programs for persons with
OUD and any co-occurring SUD/MH conditions, including new Americans.
14. Create and/or support recovery high schools.
15. Hire or train behavioral health workers to provide or expand any of the services or
supports listed above.
C. CONNECT PEOPLE WHO NEED HELP TO THE HELP THEY NEED
(CONNECTIONS TO CARE)
Provide connections to care for people who have—or are at risk of developing—OUD
and any co-occurring SUD/MH conditions through evidence-based or evidence-informed
programs or strategies that may include, but are not limited to,those that:
1. Ensure that health care providers are screening for OUD and other risk factors and
know how to appropriately counsel and treat(or refer if necessary)a patient for
OUD treatment.
2. Fund SBIRT programs to reduce the transition from use to disorders, including
SBIRT services to pregnant women who are uninsured or not eligible for
Medicaid.
3. Provide training and long-term implementation of SBIRTin key systems (health,
schools, colleges, criminal justice, and probation),with a focus on youth and
young adults when transition from misuse to opioid disorder is common.
4. Purchase automated versions of SBIRT and support ongoing costs of the
technology.
5. Expand services such as navigators and on-call teams to begin MAT in hospital
emergency departments.
6. Provide training for emergency room personnel treating opioid overdose patients
on post-discharge planning, including community referrals for MAT, recovery
case management or support services.
7. Support hospital programs that transition persons with OUD and any co-occurring
SUD/MH conditions, or persons who have experienced an opioid overdose, into
clinically appropriate follow-up care through a bridge clinic or similar approach.
8. Support crisis stabilization centers that serve as an alternative to hospital
emergency departments for persons with OUD and any co-occurring SUD/MH
conditions or persons that have experienced an opioid overdose.
9. Support the work of Emergency Medical Systems, including peer support
specialists, to connect individuals to treatment or other appropriate services
following an opioid overdose or other opioid-related adverse event.
10. Provide funding for peer support specialists or recovery coaches in emergency
departments, detox facilities, recovery centers, recovery housing, or similar
settings; offer services, supports, or connections to care to persons with OUD and
any co-occurring SUD/MH conditions or to persons who have experienced an
opioid overdose.
11. Expand warm hand-off services to transition to recovery services.
12. Create or support school-based contacts that parents can engage with to seek
immediate treatment services for their child; and support prevention, intervention,
treatment, and recovery programs focused on young people.
13. Develop and support best practices on addressing OUD in the workplace.
14. Support assistance programs for health care providers with OUD.
15. Engage non-profits and the faith community as a system to support outreach for
treatment.
16. Support centralized call centers that provide information and connections to
appropriate services and supports for persons with OUD and any co-occurring
SUD/MH conditions.
D. ADDRESS THE NEEDS OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE-INVOLVED PERSONS
Address the needs of persons with OUD and any co-occurring SUD/MH conditions who
are involved in, are at risk of becoming involved in, or are transitioning out of the
criminal justice system through evidence-based or evidence-informed programs or
strategies that may include, but are not limited to,those that:
1. Support pre-arrest or pre-arraignment diversion and deflection strategies for
persons with OUD and any co-occurring SUD/MH conditions, including
established strategies such as:
1. Self-referral strategies such as the Angel Programs or the Police Assisted
Addiction Recovery Initiative ("PAARP');
2. Active outreach strategies such as the Drug Abuse Response Team
("DART')model;
3. "Naloxone Plus" strategies, which work to ensure that individuals who
have received naloxone to reverse the effects of an overdose are then
linked to treatment programs or other appropriate services;
4. Officer prevention strategies, such as the Law Enforcement Assisted
Diversion ("LEAD") model;
5. Officer intervention strategies such as the Leon County, Florida Adult
Civil Citation Network or the Chicago Westside Narcotics Diversion to
Treatment Initiative; or
6. Co-responder and/or alternative responder models to address OUD-related
911 calls with greater SUD expertise.
2. Support pre-trial services that connect individuals with OUD and any co-
occurring SUD/MH conditions to evidence-informed treatment, including MAT,
and related services.
3. Support treatment and recovery courts that provide evidence-based options for
persons with OUD and any co-occurring SUD/MH conditions.
4. Provide evidence-informed treatment, including MAT, recovery support, harm
reduction, or other appropriate services to individuals with OUD and any co-
occurring SUD/MH conditions who are incarcerated in jail or prison.
5. Provide evidence-informed treatment, including MAT, recovery support, harm
reduction, or other appropriate services to individuals with OUD and any co-
occurring SUD/MH conditions who are leaving jail or prison or have recently left
jail or prison, are on probation or parole, are under community corrections
supervision, or are in re-entry programs or facilities.
6. Support critical time interventions ("CT]"), particularly for individuals living with
dual-diagnosis OUD/serious mental illness, and services for individuals who face
immediate risks and service needs and risks upon release from correctional
settings.
7. Provide training on best practices for addressing the needs of criminal justice-
involved persons with OUD and any co-occurring SUD/MH conditions to law
enforcement, correctional, or judicial personnel or to providers of treatment,
recovery, harm reduction, case management, or other services offered in
connection with any of the strategies described in this section.
E. ADDRESS THE NEEDS OF PREGNANT OR PARENTING WOMEN AND
THEIR FAMILIES,INCLUDING BABIES WITH NEONATAL ABSTINENCE
SYNDROME
Address the needs of pregnant or parenting women with OUD and any co-occurring
SUD/MH conditions, and the needs of their families, including babies with neonatal
abstinence syndrome("NAS"), through evidence-based or evidence-informed programs
or strategies that may include,but are not limited to,those that:
1. Support evidence-based or evidence-informed treatment, including MAT,
recovery services and supports, and prevention services for pregnant women—or
women who could become pregnant—who have OUD and any co-occurring
SUD/MH conditions, and other measures to educate and provide support to
families affected by Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome.
2. Expand comprehensive evidence-based treatment and recovery services, including
MAT, for uninsured women with OUD and any co-occurring SUD/MH
conditions for up to 12 months postpartum.
3. Provide training for obstetricians or other healthcare personnel who work with
pregnant women and their families regarding treatment of OUD and any co-
occurring SUD/MH conditions.
4. Expand comprehensive evidence-based treatment and recovery support for NAS
babies; expand services for better continuum of care with infant-need dyad; and
expand long-term treatment and services for medical monitoring of NAS babies
and their families.
5. Provide training to health care providers who work with pregnant or parenting
women on best practices for compliance with federal requirements that children
born with NAS get referred to appropriate services and receive a plan of safe care.
6. Provide child and family supports for parenting women with OUD and any co-
occurring SUD/MH conditions.
7. Provide enhanced family support and child care services for parents with OUD
and any co-occurring SUD/MH conditions.
8. Provide enhanced support for children and family members suffering trauma as a
result of addiction in the family; and offer trauma-informed behavioral health
treatment for adverse childhood events.
9. Offer home-based wrap-around services to persons with OUD and any co-
occurring SUD/MH conditions, including, but not limited to, parent skills
training.
10. Provide support for Children's Services—Fund additional positions and services,
including supportive housing and other residential services, relating to children
being removed from the home and/or placed in foster care due to custodial opioid
use.
PART TWO: PREVENTION
F. PREVENT OVER-PRESCRIBING AND ENSURE APPROPRIATE
PRESCRIBING AND DISPENSING OF OPIOIDS
Support efforts to prevent over-prescribing and ensure appropriate prescribing and
dispensing of opioids through evidence-based or evidence-informed programs or
strategies that may include, but are not limited to, the following:
1. Funding medical provider education and outreach regarding best prescribing
practices for opioids consistent with the Guidelines for Prescribing Opioids for
Chronic Pain from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including
providers at hospitals (academic detailing).
2. Training for health care providers regarding safe and responsible opioid
prescribing, dosing, and tapering patients off opioids.
3. Continuing Medical Education (CME) on appropriate prescribing of opioids.
4. Providing Support for non-opioid pain treatment alternatives, including training
providers to offer or refer to multi-modal, evidence-informed treatment of pain.
5. Supporting enhancements or improvements to Prescription Drug Monitoring
Programs ("PDMPs"), including, but not limited to, improvements that:
1. Increase the number of prescribers using PDMPs;
2. Improve point-of-care decision-making by increasing the quantity, quality,
or format of data available to prescribers using PDMPs, by improving the
interface that prescribers use to access PDMP data, or both; or
3. Enable states to use PDMP data in support of surveillance or intervention
strategies, including MAT referrals and follow-up for individuals
identified within PDMP data as likely to experience OUD in a manner that
complies with all relevant privacy and security laws and rules.
6. Ensuring PDMPs incorporate available overdose/naloxone deployment data,
including the United States Department of Transportation's Emergency Medical
Technician overdose database in a manner that complies with all relevant privacy
and security laws and rules.
7. Increasing electronic prescribing to prevent diversion or forgery.
8. Educating dispensers on appropriate opioid dispensing.
G. PREVENT MISUSE OF OPIOIDS
Support efforts to discourage or prevent misuse of opioids through evidence-based or
evidence-informed programs or strategies that may include, but are not limited to,the
following:
1. Funding media campaigns to prevent opioid misuse.
2. Corrective advertising or affirmative public education campaigns based on
evidence.
3. Public education relating to drug disposal.
4. Drug take-back disposal or destruction programs.
5. Funding community anti-drug coalitions that engage in drug prevention efforts.
6. Supporting community coalitions in implementing evidence-informed prevention,
such as reduced social access and physical access, stigma reduction—including
staffing, educational campaigns, support for people in treatment or recovery, or
training of coalitions in evidence-informed implementation, including the
Strategic Prevention Framework developed by the U.S. Substance Abuse and
Mental Health Services Administration ("SAMHSA").
7. Engaging non-profits and faith-based communities as systems to support
prevention.
8. Funding evidence-based prevention programs in schools or evidence-informed •
school and community education programs and campaigns for students, families,
school employees, school athletic programs, parent-teacher and student
associations, and others.
9. School-based or youth-focused programs or strategies that have demonstrated
effectiveness in preventing drug misuse and seem likely to be effective in
preventing the uptake and use of opioids.
10. Create or support community-based education or intervention services for
families, youth, and adolescents at risk for OUD and any co-occurring SUD/MH
conditions.
11. Support evidence-informed programs or curricula to address mental health needs
of young people who may be at risk of misusing opioids or other drugs, including
emotional modulation and resilience skills.
12. Support greater access to mental health services and supports for young people,
including services and supports provided by school nurses, behavioral health
workers or other school staff, to address mental health needs in young people that
(when not properly addressed) increase the risk of opioid or another drug misuse.
H. PREVENT OVERDOSE DEATHS AND OTHER HARMS (HARM REDUCTION)
Support efforts to prevent or reduce overdose deaths or other opioid-related harms
through evidence-based or evidence-informed programs or strategies that may include,
but are not limited to, the following:
1. Increased availability and distribution of naloxone and other drugs that treat
overdoses for first responders, overdose patients, individuals with OUD and their
friends and family members, schools, community navigators and outreach
workers, persons being released from jail or prison, or other members of the
general public.
2. Public health entities providing free naloxone to anyone in the community.
3. Training and education regarding naloxone and other drugs that treat overdoses
for first responders, overdose patients, patients taking opioids, families, schools,
community support groups, and other members of the general public.
4. Enabling school nurses and other school staff to respond to opioid overdoses, and
provide them with naloxone, training, and support.
5. Expanding, improving, or developing data tracking software and applications for
overdoses/naloxone revivals.
6. Public education relating to emergency responses to overdoses.
8. Educating first responders regarding the existence and operation of immunity and
Good Samaritan laws.
9. Syringe service programs and other evidence-informed programs to reduce harms
associated with intravenous drug use, including supplies, staffing, space, peer
• support services, referrals to treatment, fentanyl checking, connections to care,
and the full range of harm reduction and treatment services provided by these
programs.
10. Expanding access to testing and treatment for infectious diseases such as HIV and
Hepatitis C resulting from intravenous opioid use.
11. Supporting mobile units that offer or provide referrals to harm reduction services,
treatment, recovery supports, health care, or other appropriate services to persons
that use opioids or persons with OUD and any co-occurring SUD/MH conditions.
12. Providing training in harm reduction strategies tO health care providers, students,
peer recovery coaches, recovery outreach specialists, or other professionals that
provide care to persons who use opioids or persons with OUD and any co-
occurring SUD/MH conditions.
13. Supporting screening for fentanyl in routine clinical toxicology testing.
PR: 24287
•
05/1/25
TNR
RESOLUTION NO. Amended
A RESOLUTION ACKNOWLEDGING THE RECEIPT OF
THE THIRD DISTRIBUTION FROM THE OPIOID
ABATEMENT TRUST FUND AND AUTHORIZING THE
ESTABLISHMENT OF AN OPIOID REVIEW BOARD
WHEREAS, the City of Port Arthur obtained information indicating that certain drug
companies and their corporate affiliates, parents, subsidiaries, and such other defendants, as
may be added to the litigation (collectively, "Defendants"), have engaged in fraudulent and
reckless marketing and distribution of opioids that have resulted in addictions and overdoses;
and
WHEREAS, on May 13, 2020, the State of Texas, through the Office of the Attorney
General, and negotiation group for Texas political subdivisions entered into an Agreement entitled
Texas Opioid Abatement Fund Council approving the allocation of any opioid settlement funds
within the State of Texas; and
WHEREAS, the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, the Texas Treasury Safekeeping
Trust Company ("Trust Company"), and the Opioid Abatement Fund Council ("OAFC") have
announced the third distribution from the Opioid Abatement Trust Fund ("Trust Fund"), a fund
established to provide financial support to eligible entities for the abatement of opioid-related
harms; and
WHEREAS, the City of Port Arthur has received this third distribution, representing
partial compensation for financial losses and damage sustained by the community as a result of
the opioid epidemic; and
WHEREAS, the City Council recognizes the ongoing public health and safety challenges
posed by opioid abuse and seeks to ensure that funds received are utilized in a transparent,
strategic, and impactful manner; and
WHEREAS, in the interest of public accountability and effective administration,the City
of Port Arthur intends to establish an Opioid Review Board tasked with evaluating, planning, and
recommending initiatives funded by the Trust Fund distributions in accordance with state
guidelines and community priorities.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF PORT ARTHUR, TEXAS:
Section 1. That the facts and opinions in the preamble are true and correct.
PR: 24287
05/1/25
TNR
Section 2.The City Council hereby acknowledges receipt of the third distribution from the
Opioid Abatement Trust Fund as announced by the Texas Comptroller, the Trust Company, and
the OAFC.
Section 3. The City Council hereby authorizes the creation of the Opioid Review Board,
which shall be composed of seven members recommended by the City Council. Each City Council
member shall be allowed to recommend one person to the review board. The review board shall
include representatives from public health, law enforcement, community services, and other
relevant stakeholders. The panel mitigates conflicts of interest and supports the Council's final
decision-making authority, as outlined in Rules § 16.206 and § 16.208.
Section 4. The Opioid Review Board shall be responsible for assessing the opioid-related
needs of the City,recommending eligible uses of the abatement funds in alignment with the Trust
Fund's permitted uses, and advising the City Council on the allocation and monitoring of those
funds.
Section 5. The City Manager or designee is authorized to take all necessary actions to
implement this Resolution,including developing administrative procedures for the Opioid Review
Board.
Section 6. That a copy of the caption of this Resolution shall be spread upon the Minutes
of the City Council.
READ, ADOPTED, AND APPROVED this the day of , A.D.
2025 at a meeting of the City of Port Arthur,Texas by the following vote:AYES:
Mayor:
Councilmembers:
NOES:
Thurman Bill Bartie, Mayor
ATTEST:
Sherri Bellard, City Secretary
PR: 24287
05/1/25
TN R
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Roxann Pais Cotroneo, City Attorney
APPROVED FO D INISTRATION:
Ron Burton, CPM, anager
APPROVED AS TO AVAILABILITY OF
FUNDS:
01,
(44
a(Lyn) Boswell, MA, ICMA-CM
mance Director
