Opioid Settlement Funds

Plan for how to allocate settlement funds received by the City of Albuquerque and Bernalillo County

Contact

Phone: 505-468-7412

Strategic Plan for Opioid Settlement Funds

Read the Draft Strategic Plan for Opioid Settlement Funds, which was published in October 2024.

Opioid settlement funds are being awarded as part of litigation brought by states and local political subdivisions against pharmaceutical distributors that inflicted damages through the marketing and misuse of synthetic opioids.

In 2021, New Mexico had the 6th highest overdose rate in the country, with an estimate of 1029 overdose deaths and an overdose rate of 50.6. This means that for every 100,000 people in New Mexico, an average of 50.6 people died from an overdose.

A resolution passed by the City Council in October, 2023, R-23-174, sets forth several requirements that must be met before the City can spend the funds, including an estimated life of settlement fund balance and timeline and solicited input from other local governments. Bernalillo County passed a parallel resolution, AR 2023-105.

Bernalillo County, the City of Albuquerque, and the global health organization Vital Strategies are working together to design and implement a planning process for the strategic use of opioid settlement funds. The county and city are required to contract with an outside entity to help our respective local governments develop a plan of action for use of opioid settlement funds. Vital Strategies is working with SBS Evaluation & Program Development Specialists to conduct outreach and facilitate conversations with community members on how opioid settlement funds should be spent.

A facilitated public planning and meeting process is also being organized to solicit public input on the use of the opioid settlement monies.

Presentations

Community Engagement Plan

A community engagement plan was announced by Bernalillo County and the City of Albuquerque, working with the public health organization Vital Strategies and locally-based SBS Evaluation & Program Development Specialists, in April.

Since then, the teams have been gathering public input in order to develop a proposed strategic plan that will be presented to the Board of County Commissioners on Oct. 22, 2024.

The plan will recommend strategies to use settlement funds from opioid-related litigation settlements to address the opioid crisis in the community.

Five town halls hosted by county commissioners and city councilors were completed in July and August. Many listening sessions have been held, with a few more remaining in the month of August.

Upon conclusion of the listening sessions, the Vital Strategies and SBS teams will be collating data collected to help feed the proposed strategic plan.

How Will Community Members be Included?

Strategy 1: Community outreach

Strategy 2: Host and facilitate five townhalls, one in each of the five County Commission districts

Community meetings were held throughout the city to get input from the community about how opioid settlement funding should be used.

Strategy 3: Host and facilitate seven listening sessions, each tailored to a specific stakeholder group

Strategy 4: Host and facilitate a listening session with City and County lawmakers

Strategy 5: Host at least one townhall session with Pueblos and Native nations

Strategy 6: Administer online survey to City and County community members

Strategy 7: Collect opinions and ideas through e-mail

Who is working on the strategic plan?

The City of Albuquerque and Bernalillo County have partnered with Vital Strategies to facilitate the strategic planning process for opioid settlement funds that will bespent in the fiscal year of 2025.

Vital Strategies is a global health organization and the implementation partner in the Bloomberg Overdose Prevention Initiative partnering with governments and communities to achieve an equitable and sustainable reduction in overdose deaths.

Vital Strategies is working with SBS Evaluation & Program Development Specialists to conduct outreach and facilitate conversations with community members on how opioid settlement funds should be spent.

Stakeholder Groups

People with lived and living experience
Lawmakers and other City and County
leadership
Medical and behavioral health leaders
Black community
Latinx community
Urban Native community
Family members of people who use drugs
Public health and social services providers
LGBTQ advocacy and service providers
Leaders and members of the Pueblos and
Native nations in the geography of Bernalillo County
Youth service providers, and parents of youth and young people
Educational institutions
Migrant and immigrant communities