Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced his endorsement of the Opioid Abatement Fund Council's (OAFC) inaugural abatement strategies, grant plans, and adopted rules for distributing opioid settlement funds to Texas hospital districts. The OAFC, in its decision, greenlit the allocation of up to $25 million from the opioid settlement trust funds. This initiative comes as a response to combat the growing opioid crisis in Texas.
The council has approved a series of initiatives that are expected to significantly contribute to tackling this crisis. In the upcoming year, the approved grant plans aim to distribute Naloxone to communities affected by the opioid crisis, enhance substance abuse prevention and awareness programs for students and their families, and support the behavioral health workforce through training and certification assistance, according to a press release by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.
Comptroller Hegar expressed his satisfaction with these significant measures taken by the OAFC. "This week, the OAFC took meaningful, decisive action to fund evidence-based priorities to respond to the raging opioid crisis," said Hegar, according to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. "The grant plans take a multifaceted approach to treat Texans most at risk of overdose, increase substance use prevention and awareness among parents and students, and support our behavioral health workforce. I am proud of these decisions to support Texas children and parents, health care workers, and communities across our state."
Hegar also emphasized how critical it is that resources be provided for hospital districts who are on the front lines in this battle against opioids. "I want to thank the Council members for their efforts in developing strategies that are designed to have an immediate impact," said Hegar, chairman of the OAFC, according to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. "I am also pleased that the Council took important action to provide hospital districts with additional resources to combat this crisis. Hospitals in many cases bear a significant burden and often administer the last line of life-saving health care to prevent overdose deaths, so this is a key step in ensuring these facilities can continue and expand their work saving the lives of Texans."
The establishment of OAFC marks a strategic move towards equitable distribution and effective utilization of settlement funds. The OAFC was established to guarantee equitable distribution and appropriate utilization of funds obtained through statewide opioid settlement agreements, aiming to effectively address and combat the opioid crisis in Texas, according to the Programs webpage provided by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.