Opioid Settlement Funds Advisory Committee Meeting Recording - 5/18/2026

The Hancock County Opioid Settlement Funds Advisory Committee held an organizational meeting on May 18, 2026, to establish its structure and begin planning the allocation of opioid settlement funds. The committee elected a chair and vice chair, discussed bylaws and meeting procedures including remote participation policies, and reviewed the role of the McKenzie Opioid Settlement Support (MOSS) Center in providing technical assistance. The MOSS Center presented data on settlement fund distributions, current balances, and examples of grant application templates and scoring rubrics to guide the committee's future funding decisions. The committee discussed strategies for community engagement, prioritization of funding across prevention, treatment, harm reduction, and recovery, and the importance of data-driven recommendations to present to the County Commissioners, who hold final approval authority. Plans were made to meet monthly, with the next meeting focusing on reviewing community needs assessments, draft applications, and scoring criteria to prepare for the first round of grant awards estimated around $400,000 to $500,000. No formal votes on funding allocations were taken at this initial meeting, but the committee laid the groundwork for transparent and evidence-based distribution of opioid settlement funds in Hancock County.