Orange County NC Website
10 <br /> borders to encourage collaboration and plan for permissible expenditures in the upcoming year. <br /> Local governments are also encouraged to engage in a strategic planning process to access <br /> additional expenditure options. <br /> The MOA also establishes a Coordination Group composed of local government <br /> representatives, state government representatives, and others with relevant expertise that will <br /> meet periodically to help coordinate and guide Local Governments with their work under the <br /> MOA. The Coordination Group includes twelve total representatives as follows: <br /> • Five local government representatives including one county commissioner, one county <br /> manager, one county attorney, one local health director, and one municipal manager; <br /> • Four appointees of the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services; <br /> • One appointee of the Attorney General; <br /> • Two appointees of the legislature including one from the UNC School of Government <br /> and one from the North Carolina Institute of Medicine. <br /> The MOA requires local governments to deposit opioid settlement funds received in a special <br /> restricted revenue fund to account separately for the monies. The local government must <br /> include in its budget or pass a resolution authorizing the expenditure of opioid settlement funds, <br /> indicating the specific strategy it chose from one of the two options outlined in the MOA. <br /> Under Option A, a local government may fund one or more strategies from a shorter list of <br /> evidence-based, high-impact strategies to address the epidemic, including many strategies <br /> already deployed at the county level. The Option A strategies include: <br /> • evidence-based addiction treatment <br /> • recovery support services <br /> • recovery housing <br /> • employment-related services <br /> • early intervention programs <br /> • naloxone distribution <br /> • post-overdose response teams <br /> • syringe service programs <br /> • criminal justice diversion programs <br /> • addiction treatment for incarcerated persons <br /> • reentry programs <br /> Under Option B, a local government may fund one or more strategies from a longer list of <br /> strategies after engaging in a collaborative strategic planning process involving a diverse array <br /> of stakeholders at the local level (as detailed in Exhibit C to the MOA). The longer list of Option <br /> B strategies —the full range of strategies that will be allowed under a national settlement or <br /> bankruptcy resolution — involve multiple strategies falling into these broad categories: <br /> Provide treatment for Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) <br /> Support people in treatment and recovery and provide connections to care <br /> Address the needs of criminal-justice-involved persons with OUD <br /> Address the needs of pregnant or parenting women and their families <br /> Prevent over-prescribing of opioids and misuse of opioids <br /> Prevent overdose deaths and other harms (harm reduction) <br /> Local governments have annual financial and impact reporting and audit requirements under <br /> the MOA to ensure opioid settlement funds are spent consistent with permissible purposes: <br />