BOSTON, MA March 8, 2023 – The Master Opioid Settlement Agreement has created an enormous opportunity to expand and support models of deflection and diversion. Due to the fact that The Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative (PAARI) was explicitly listed as an approved use of funds in the agreement, PAARI partners and other like-minded organizations can apply for these funds to support their programs. 

Each state has its own internal agreement on how to split the opioid settlement funds between local governments, the state, and in some cases additional entities (trust funds and sheriffs). Due to each state dealing with settlement funds differently, it can be a lot of information for organizations to navigate. 

PAARI is excited to announce the release of its Opioid Settlement Funds: A State-by-State Guide. This guide was developed to lessen the confusion for organizations when applying to receive funds to assist them in creating and expanding non-arrest pathways to treatment and recovery.

PAARI-type deflection models that can utilize opioid settlement funds include self-referral/officer-referral models, Quick Response Teams, co-responder models, Angel programs, post-overdose follow-ups, HUB situation tables, and more. PAARI partners can also request a Letter of Support from PAARI when applying to receive these funds. In addition to these resources, PAARI also hosts Opioid Settlement Fund Office Hours on the first Friday of every month at 1:00 p.m. EST. 

“We want to make sure that all of our partners that deserve funding, receive it,” says Travis Rapoza, Program Manager at PAARI. “We created this guide to make it easier for them to navigate through this, at times, complicated process.”

“We are proud to be able to share this guide that our team has been working on over the past few months,” says Zoe Grover-Scicchitano, Executive Director of PAARI. “We urge our partners to review this guide and to not hesitate to reach out to us for any questions they might have about funding.”

To view the complete Opioid Settlement Funds: A State-by-State Guide, click HERE.

To sign up for Opioid Settlement Fund Office Hours, click HERE.

Written By: Isabella Nowak

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ABOUT PAARI: The Police Assisted Addiction & Recovery Initiative (PAARI) is a nonprofit organization with a mission to help law enforcement agencies nationwide create non-arrest pathways to treatment and recovery. Founded alongside the groundbreaking Gloucester, Mass., Police Department Angel Initiative in June 2015, PAARI has been a driving force behind this rapidly expanding community policing movement. We provide technical assistance, strategic guidance, connection to training resources, and other capacity-building resources to more than 700 police departments in 40 states. 

PAARI works with more than 130 law enforcement agencies in Massachusetts alone. PAARI and our law enforcement partners are working towards a collective vision where non-arrest diversion programs become a standard policing practice across the country, thereby reducing overdose deaths, expanding access to treatment, improving public safety, reducing crime, diverting people away from the criminal justice system, and increasing trust between law enforcement and their communities. Our programs and partners have saved tens of thousands of lives, changed police culture, and reshaped the national conversation about the opioid epidemic since its founding in June 2015. Learn more at paariusa.org.