Opioid Authority Awards $12.3 Million for Prevention, Treatment and Recovery in Virginia

Virginia will steer more than $12.3 million in opioid settlement money toward state programs ranging from naloxone distribution and treatment services to youth education and recovery support on college campuses, the Virginia Opioid Abatement Authority announced recently.

The agency’s Grants Committee approved its latest round of funding for 39 projects across 18 state agencies and public institutions. Seven are new projects, while 32 are continuations of previously funded efforts.

The committee also approved carrying forward more than $3.1 million in previously awarded money, bringing the total available for the projects during the 2026-27 funding period to about $15.4 million.

“These awards strengthen the partnerships that are helping Virginia prevent opioid misuse, expand access to treatment, and support people in recovery,” said state Sen. Todd Pillion, R-Washington, chair of the authority’s board of directors.

“By investing in the expertise of our state agencies and public universities, we can reach more Virginians with services that save lives and help individuals and families build a healthier future.”

The money comes from Virginia’s share of national legal settlements with opioid manufacturers, distributors, and other companies. The General Assembly created the Opioid Abatement Authority in 2021 to oversee much of that money, which is restricted to efforts aimed at treating, preventing, or reducing opioid-use disorder and opioid abuse.

The authority controls 55% of Virginia’s opioid settlement funds. Another 30% goes directly to cities and counties, with the remaining 15% allocated to the state.

Virginia’s settlement payments began in 2022 and are expected to exceed $1.1 billion before concluding in 2041. Court orders and state law restrict the money to opioid abatement and remediation efforts.

A 2021 VCU analysis and the Department of Health estimated that nearly 150,000 Virginians had opioid-use disorder that year. At least six people died from opioid overdoses each day on average.

Fentanyl and other synthetic opioids have been especially deadly. From 2020 through 2024, they were involved in roughly three out of every four fatal drug overdoses in Virginia.

The numbers have fallen sharply, however.  Virginia Department of Health data show 1,403 Virginians died from drug overdoses in 2024, down 43% from 2023.

Demand for the latest round of money exceeded what was available. The authority received 51 proposals seeking more than $21.1 million during an application period that ran from March 20 through June 8.

The Virginia Department of Health received the largest combined award, with more than $2.4 million in new funding and nearly $717,000 carried forward from the previous year.

The money will support harm-reduction services, local opioid-use disorder coordinators, regional overdose review teams and a pilot program for pregnant women. More than $503,000 is going toward the state’s naloxone distribution infrastructure, including about $79,000 carried forward, while another $500,000 of previously awarded money will pay for naloxone purchases.

Naloxone is a medication that can rapidly reverse an opioid overdose.

Another $1.84 million in new funding will go to the Virginia Foundation of Healthy Youth. Most of it, about $1.47 million, will support the foundation’s “Deadly Dose” fentanyl and overdose messaging campaign. The remaining $370,000 will expand access to its Dangers of Fentanyl lesson.

“The opioid crisis affects people in every part of the Commonwealth, and our response must reflect the different needs of those communities,” said Del. Briana Sewell, D-Prince William, vice chair of the authority’s board and acting chair of its Grants Committee.

“These investments support evidence-based approaches while helping agencies work together to expand prevention, strengthen treatment and recovery services, and make effective use of settlement dollars.”

Seven of Virginia’s public universities also received funding, much of it aimed at prevention and recovery efforts on campus.

Virginia Commonwealth University will get $1.6 million in new funding. Among its projects is HARBOR, a new pilot program that will pair certified peer recovery specialists with an immersive virtual reality recovery program. The authority awarded more than $267,000 for the effort.

VCU also received renewed funding for several existing programs, including more than $582,000 for the Virginia Opioid Abatement Toolkit and about $326,000 for the Virginia Naloxone Project. Other money will support substance-abuse counselor training, student recovery services, and work at the school’s Massey Cancer Center.

Virginia Tech was awarded nearly $1.17 million in new funding, including money for two new projects. The university will receive about $115,000 for a recovery housing assessment, training and technical assistance program and more than $93,000 to expand neuroscience-based substance-use prevention education.

Existing Virginia Tech programs receiving another round of funding include Virginia Cooperative Extension services and a campus recovery community.

George Mason University, Radford University, the University of Mary Washington, the University of Virginia and Virginia State University also received money for recovery initiatives.

Beyond universities, the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center was awarded nearly $63,000 for a new simulation-based training program for first responders.

More than $1 million in new funding will go to the Department of Education for an opioid abatement education plan and a technical assistance and grant program for Virginia recovery schools. About $74,000 left from the previous funding cycle will carry forward.

Some of the settlement money is also headed into the criminal justice system.

The Department of Corrections received about $840,000 in new funding for medication-assisted treatment social workers and naloxone distribution for people on probation, along with more than $223,000 carried forward from the previous funding period.

Nearly $400,000 will go to the Virginia Indigent Defense Commission for a re-entry and recovery specialist program. The Supreme Court of Virginia was awarded about $507,000 for a statewide drug-testing contract.

Meanwhile, the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services will receive more than $210,000 for a new Recovery Workforce Conference. The agency also received another round of funding for a substance-use data analyst and the Virginia Recovery Corps.

Because opioid settlement payments arrive over a period of years, the authority makes it awards one year at a time.

Recipients of competitive state agency and cooperative partnership grants can seek as many as four one-year renewals, provided they remain in compliance with the authority’s requirements and continue making progress toward their project’s objectives.

By Markus Schmidt, Virginia Mercury

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