St. Clair County officials planning how to spend millions from an opioid settlement

With an early payout from part of its $6.9 million cut of a massive national opioid litigation settlement, St. Clair County officials are weighing a shortlist of proposals to bolster jail drug detection technology and court recovery programs.

The county first joined a national lawsuit against drug manufacturers of opioid medication in 2018, citing the strain on agencies from the rise of related addictions over the last two decades.

The settlement with the pharmaceutical company Janssen and its distributors was reached last year, and last week, the county board of commissioners got a brief rundown of the potential use of the funding.

Of the $6.9 million, which is required to be distributed to the county over 18 years, more than $1.3 million has already been paid to the county.

According to St. Clair County administration, Janssen opted to pay its first five years of payouts, totaling just under $1 million with associated distributors paying for 2022 and 2023 at over $330,000.

County Administrator Karry Hepting said the first payment comes after a work group discussed potential uses of the funds over the last year.

“It was probably one of the best committees I’ve sat on — lots of engagement,” she said during a meeting last Thursday. “The majority of the judges participated in one way or the other at the meetings. We had court representation, prosecutor, public defender, sheriff, public health. Just lots of discussion surrounding different programs and what programs we can actually make an impact in.

“There’s a lot of things that are needed; however, with the funds on an annual basis, there’s only so much we can do. A lot of great discussion and debate in that group.”

The board received proposals from the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department, as well as the circuit and district courts. They were forwarded on in committee to the board’s regular meeting for final approval on March 16.

How much will go to what program for the county?

The district court’s proposal is a long list of smaller expenditures with much of it going toward its recovery court program. Its largest request of $115,212 would be put toward a recovery court coordinator. Others ranged from a recovery clerk, drug testing, and treatment services to incentives, transportation, and other program costs.

According to a November 2022 letter from the court’s chief probation officer Doug Jones, the recovery court is currently funded through its office of highway safety.

“We are limited to only accepting offenders whose current offense is traffic related,” he wrote. “Our probation department currently supervises approximately 600 misdemeanor offenders. From that group, our probation officers have identified 31 offenders who have opioid addiction issues (and) who would benefit immensely from participating in recovery court. However, they do not qualify because their offenses are not traffic related. If granted additional funding … our recovery court would be able to service these 31 individuals, as well as offenders identified by other agencies.”

The circuit court requested $52,567 for a peer recovery coach.

Circuit Court Administrator Mike McMillan wrote to Hepting in a memo about the benefits of non-clinical support that brings lived experience to the recovery process.

Although peer coaches are tools to support recovery among adults throughout the corrections and mental health communities, McMillan said misdemeanor and juvenile offenders “do not have access to these resources.”

Meanwhile, in a memo to Hepting from Sheriff Mat King and Jail Administrator Tracy DeCaussin, the sheriff’s department issued $202,500 in one-time costs that include a body scanner, its warranty, and a duplicate monitor, citing needs “in the area of detection and technology” as “in high demand” and difficulty searching individuals who enter their facility while struggling with addictions.

The total costs proposals for use of the settlement funds this year totaled more than $467,700.

The state attorney general's office announced participating local governments would begin seeing the results of two multi-state opioid settlements in January. It was originally expected in late 2022 but held up by legal challenges out of Ottawa County, according to the state.

In all, Michigan was anticipating more than $1.45 billion in settlement funds.

Gary Fletcher, the St. Clair County's attorney, said the county got in early in joining the suit against Jannsen, whose parent company is Johnson & Johnson. And although there may be other local settlement recipients among local government agencies in the area, the county's share is likely much larger.

The city of Port Huron, for example, according to City Manager James Freed, has received $87,000. He said on Monday he expected a proposal for its use to be brought to City Council this spring.

Pat Patterson, director of Blue Water Action Recovery Center, which has received city American Rescue Plan Act dollars for its programs and facility, acknowledged more immediate needs in treatment and prevention, such as at the county and state level, are important. But he said funds — be it federal or as a result of the settlement — should be used to address longer-term needs.

“When we enter recovery, we made a lifelong decision," Patterson said. "Where we spend a lot of money is on that first 30 days or the first six months. Where’s the ongoing support system? … So, we’ve watched the money drop off significantly.”

 Contact Jackie Smith at (810) 989-6270 or jssmith@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @Jackie20Smith.

This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: St. Clair County plan how to spend millions from opioid settlement