Biden-Harris Administration Awards More than $1.5 Billion in State and Tribal Opioid Response Grants to Advance the President’s Unity Agenda for the Nation

Thursday, September 26, 2024

SAMHSA Extends Grant Cycles to Give Communities More Time to Implement Programs that Connect Americans to Evidence-Based Treatments, Recovery Supports

Today, the Biden-Harris Administration, through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), announced more than $1.5 billion in awards for fiscal year 2024 State Opioid Response (SOR), Tribal Opioid Response (TOR) and SOR/TOR Technical Assistance grants. This grant funding is a critical investment in President Biden's Unity Agenda for the Nation and the HHS Overdose Prevention Strategy, and supports evidence-based, holistic practices that address the overdose crisis through prevention; harm reduction, including naloxone and other opioid overdose reversal medications; treatment, including use of medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD); and recovery supports.

Awards for fiscal year 2024 (FY24) build on efforts to ensure opioid overdose reversal medication saturation across communities, ensuring these medications are in the hands of those most likely to experience or witness an overdose. The FY24 awards have an increased focus on services for transitional aged youth and young adults (ages 16-25 years); expand availability of MOUD in correctional settings; and emphasize the role of services that use a whole-person approach by considering an individual's physical and mental health needs and their social supports. Additionally, TOR awards increased more than 14.5% over FY23 levels, and include a needs-based supplement to support tribes in counties with a high level of overdoses among Tribal members.

"Tribal and state opioid response grants are an integral part of advancing President Biden's and Vice President Harris' Unity Agenda for the Nation, and a key tool to beating the opioid epidemic," said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. "In the past four years, these programs have connected hundreds of thousands of people to substance use disorder treatment, supported millions of people in recovery, and enhanced naloxone saturation efforts across the country. We're incredibly proud of these efforts and are following through on our commitment to expand prevention, harm reduction, treatment and recovery infrastructure across the nation."

"Expanding access to treatment is an essential component of beating the overdose crisis. State and Tribal Opioid Response grants are a critical tool in the fight," said HHS Deputy Secretary Andrea Palm. "As part of his Unity Agenda, President Biden is making sure evidence-based strategies and tools are available to support all communities. The result is more lives saved and more people being able to get the care and treatment they need."

"Today's awards will help Tribes, states, and territories build on their successes and continue to expand necessary infrastructure and implement programs and services to address the overdose crisis," said Miriam E. Delphin-Rittmon, Ph.D., HHS Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use and the leader of SAMHSA. "Importantly, this funding will promote comprehensive, person-centered approaches to addressing needs across the continuum of care, from prevention to recovery support."

The more than $1.5 billion in awards includes:

• State Opioid Response - ($1.49 billion) - This program addresses the public health crisis caused by escalating opioid misuse, opioid use disorder (OUD), and opioid-related overdose across the nation by increasing access to MOUD; supporting the continuum of prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery support services for OUD and other concurrent substance use disorders; and enhancing the continuum of care for stimulant misuse and use disorders, including those involving cocaine and methamphetamine.
• Tribal Opioid Response - ($63 million) - This program assists in addressing the opioid overdose crisis in Tribal communities by increasing access to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved MOUD and supporting the continuum of prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery support services for OUD and co-occurring substance use disorders.
• State Opioid Response/Tribal Opioid Response Technical Assistance - ($18.5 million) - This program, through free training and technical assistance, advances the provision of trauma-informed, culturally relevant, and evidence-based substance use-related approaches and interventions across the country and across the lifespan to reduce the impacts of opioid and stimulant misuse and use disorders on individuals, families, and communities.

Since their inception in 2018, State and Tribal Opioid Response grants have funded treatment and recovery services for people in need across the country. For example, grantees reported more than 177,000 people received treatment for OUD and more than 56,000 people received treatment for stimulant use disorder between September 30, 2021, and September 29, 2022. During that same period, almost 480,000 people received recovery support services. Awards also support overdose prevention and response, with almost 2.7 million naloxone kits distributed and more than 92,000 reported overdose reversals between April 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023.

Opioid response grant successes are most evident in qualitative improvements in the lives of participants. At the six-month follow-up, most clients reported improved housing stability, social connectedness, health, and employment and education achievement. For most participants, mental health outcomes also improved, with clients reporting less depression, less anxiety, less trouble controlling behavior, fewer suicide attempts, and increased abstinence from alcohol or drug use.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. To learn how to get support for mental health, drug or alcohol issues, visit FindSupport.gov. If you are ready to locate a treatment facility or provider, you can go directly to FindTreatment.gov or call 800-662-HELP (4357).