The opioid manufacturers and distributors lost a gigantic lawsuit brought by local governments and states several years ago and now that restitution money is rolling in and counties – including Guilford County – are trying to put that money to work battling the addiction problems that that the opioid crisis created.
As part of that effort, the Guilford County Board of Commissioners is scheduled to approve another round of opioid settlement spending at its Thursday, June 4 meeting – this time to help launch a new outpatient treatment program aimed at pregnant women and mothers battling substance abuse.
County commissioners are set to approve a budget amendment appropriating $186,432 from the county’s Opioid Settlement Fund to support a Substance Abuse Intensive Outpatient Program (SAIOP) that will operate as part of the county’s broader “Family-Focused Recovery Program.”
According to county documents, the program will serve “pregnant and parenting women with substance use disorders through structured outpatient treatment and wraparound support services.”
The funding was already authorized by the board during the commissioners’ March 27 retreat as part of a larger opioid settlement spending resolution. The June 4 agenda item puts the money into the county budget so the program can move forward.
County staff state that the program for mothers and pregnant women represents “Phase 2” of the Family-Focused Recovery Program and is intended to begin operating before the county’s planned Gibson Park recovery facility is completed.
According to the agenda item, the outpatient program is designed to “open and begin operations while the Gibson Park facility is under construction and continue operating once the residential facility is open.”
County officials say the program will include group-based treatment and support services that are intended to improve both recovery outcomes and long-term family stability.
The funding will be available from April 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027.
The money comes from those massive nationwide opioid settlements reached with drug manufacturers, distributors and pharmacies over their role in the opioid addiction crisis that devastated communities across the country for more than two decades.
North Carolina and counties and municipalities across the state have been receiving millions of dollars through those settlements.
Under North Carolina’s opioid settlement agreement framework, local governments are required to spend the money on evidence-based addiction treatment, recovery, prevention and harm reduction strategies.
Guilford County has already approved multiple opioid settlement initiatives over the last several years as county officials have tried to build what they often describe as a “continuum of care” for substance abuse treatment and recovery.
The county has directed settlement dollars toward recovery housing, peer support programs, naloxone distribution, transportation assistance, behavioral health partnerships and treatment services for people caught up in the criminal justice system.
County leaders have also supported efforts focused on maternal and family recovery services – an area that officials say has often been underserved despite the severe impact addiction can have on both parents and children.
The Family-Focused Recovery Program is intended to build out that part of the county’s response to the addiction plague.
Structured outpatient treatment programs like SAIOP are generally designed for people who need intensive treatment and counseling services – but don’t require full-time inpatient hospitalization.
Programs often include therapy sessions, relapse prevention, substance abuse education, mental health support and case management.
Guilford County’s version will specifically focus on pregnant women and mothers with substance use disorders. County health officials have increasingly emphasized the importance of keeping families together whenever possible while also addressing addiction issues that can place children at risk.
The outpatient treatment component is expected to serve as an early operational phase of the broader Gibson Park recovery initiative – which county leaders have discussed in recent years as a major long-term behavioral health investment.
The agenda item notes that the outpatient services will continue once the residential facility opens. That suggests the county intends for the programs to operate together as part of a larger recovery model.
Local governments across North Carolina have faced a lot of pressure to ensure that the opioid case settlement dollars are used very strategically since the payments will eventually taper off over time.
Many counties in the state have focused heavily on naloxone distribution and immediate overdose response efforts. Guilford County has pursued those efforts as well; however, county leaders have also increasingly emphasized building treatment capacity and longer-term recovery systems.
Like much of North Carolina, Guilford County has experienced years of opioid-related overdoses involving prescription opioids, heroin and fentanyl.
Public health officials have repeatedly warned that fentanyl – a synthetic opioid far more powerful than heroin – continues to drive overdose deaths across the state.
County officials have said repeatedly that settlement funding offers a rare opportunity to expand treatment and recovery services that otherwise would likely be difficult to fund through the county’s regular budget.
