Ga. opens new application portal for opioid settlement grants, nearly $200 million for metro area

ATLANTA — The state of Georgia is receiving funds for its part in the national opioid settlement against manufacturers of drugs accused of contributing to the opioid crisis. About $638 million is coming to the Peach State.

To best distribute the hundreds of millions coming to Georgia, officials announced a new grant portal for applicants to request funding will open on April 15.

The state also created a new site to help potential recipients understand how and what the funds could be used for.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

“In May 2022, Governor Brian P. Kemp signed major opioid legislation (Senate Bill 500) to secure $638 million for state and local governments to bolster critical treatment and prevention efforts,” the state explained.

Georgia officials told Channel 2 Action News that $479 million would be going to the state to distribute for a variety of programs, while another $159 million is earmarked for local regions including the six Georgia Department of Behavioral Health & Developmental Disabilities districts and five qualified block grant regions.

TRENDING STORIES:

• Wind advisory in effect, gusts up to 35 mph possible; more trees, power lines likely to fall
• Funeral arrangements announced for Griffin 11-year-old killed in house fire
• More than 45,000 customers without power across north Georgia

Those block grant regions are squarely within the metro Atlanta area, with state officials saying Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties, as well as the City of Atlanta, were the five block grant regions in question.

According to GDBHDD, 60% of the $479 million must be spent on a state basis, and the remaining 40% must be spent regionally.

The $479 million, or 75% of what Georgia received, will be distributed through the Georgia Opioid Crisis Abatement Trust.

The remaining 25% will go from the National Administrator of the settlement to Georgia’ participating local governments across the state.

State officials said the allocations for the various regions getting portions of the $479 million are still being finalized, but they expect the finalized allocations to be set in the next two weeks.

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]

IN OTHER NEWS:

Mother outraged, says daycare worker had inappropriate relationship with her 10-year-old son

©2023 Cox Media Group