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WINSTON-SALEM — Forsyth County government announced that it has received the award for Excellence in the Application of the Opioid Litigation Principles for the first quarter of 2024.

The principles were developed by a coalition of organizations from across the substance use field and by faculty and staff from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The quarterly award, launched in the first quarter of 2023, is given to jurisdictions that demonstrate distinction in how their decision-making process to utilize the National Opioid Settlement funds reflects the Opioid Litigation Principles.

The Opioid Litigation Principles are a set of evidence-based guidelines developed by the coalition designed to guide state and local policymakers to effectively and equitably use settlement funds:

• Spend the money to save lives
• Use evidence to guide spending
• Invest in youth prevention
• Focus on racial equity
• Develop a fair and transparent process for deciding where to spend the funding

The principles are outlined in a 2021 report coordinated by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health which provided details and examples to guide jurisdictions’ efforts.

To ensure Forsyth County incorporated the Opioid Litigation Principles into its planning process, it developed a community strategic plan with collaboration from more than 45 community stakeholders. Input from the community was also gathered through a survey with more than 400 responses, a public county and municipal leadership input session and discussions with various community groups. This approach identified key themes and priorities and informed the county’s strategy.

“Forsyth County is so honored to receive this award,” said Forsyth County Deputy Manager Denise Price, who is the county’s health and human services director. “We have seen such innovative thinking around using the opioid settlement funds through our process. We know that there are some really great things that our community is doing well, and we want those things to continue. But we also know and recognize that if we continue to do things exactly like we were, we are probably going to continue to get the same kinds of outcomes that we were receiving. We are constantly trying to improve the lives of all our community members and are excited to see what new and impactful projects we can fund in the future.”

Forsyth County worked to ensure fair and transparent fund allocation by utilizing its collaborative approach, building on existing relationships and forging new ones and has facilitated quick organization and fund allocation. This helped the county select projects to fund with opioid settlement funds but also work with programs that may not meet the criteria for opioid settlement funds, to connect them with programs they can collaborate with or advise them on how to better prepare applications for future rounds.

“This announcement of awardees really exemplifies the variety of approaches to opioid settlement spending and reporting,” says Sara Whaley, senior practice associate at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health who leads the school’s settlement technical assistance work. “But the common theme of our awardees is their commitment to the Principles and to ensuring these dollars support their communities.”

For information about the opioid settlement in North Carolina, go to https://ncopioidsettlement.org/.