Methods
NASHP, in collaboration with the Center for Addiction Research and Effective Solutions at the American Institutes for Research (AIR CARES), is supporting a cohort of states to consider how to effectively target settlement dollars, among other funding streams, to communities experiencing higher rates of overdose deaths, through the Measurements for Accountability to All People in Policy Solutions (MAAPPS). What this collaboration — as well as NASHP’s ongoing work with states — has established is that distributing money through grantmaking is both a challenge and a solution to reaching populations disproportionately affected by the opioid crisis.
The research process began by conducting qualitative interviews with a range of CBOs, funders, and backbone organizations, as well as a listening session with CBOs funded by the Foundation for Opioid Response Effort’s community-level responses to the opioid crisis grant program to hear about their challenges in the processes of applying for grants, receiving grant funding, and implementing proposed projects. NASHP then assembled a workgroup of state leaders, comprised of state employees from geographically and politically diverse states, to share promising practices and lessons learned for addressing common challenges. With this information, NASHP identified policy levers and state program examples, compiling a toolkit that offers a menu of practical options that officials administering opioid settlement funds — as well as other substance use and public health funding — can consider to address operational challenges for partnering with affected communities.