Use our Contact Us form to submit an inquiry.

For information regarding the governance of the Trust, please refer to Section V.C. of the First Amended and Restated Trust Order. For background information on the current Trustees, please see the Trust’s website.

It is the intention of the Board of Trustees (“Board”) to hold a public listening session once a year, aligned with the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania's Annual Conference each August.

In addition, members of the public are welcome to attend and observe public Board and Dispute Resolution Committee meetings. Anyone may also submit questions, comments, or input at any time using the Contact Us form on the Trust’s website, which ensures that feedback can be shared outside of scheduled public meetings.

See the First Amended and Restated Trust Order and Exhibit E.

See the Meeting Information and Resources page for more information.

For questions regarding conflicts of interest, please see the First Amended and Restated Trust Order at paragraph VIII.D., which refers to the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act, 65 Pa. C.S. §§ 1101-1113.

The Trust intends to comply with the Sunshine Act, 65 Pa. C.S. §§ 701-716, as required under the Commonwealth Court Order establishing the Trust at paragraph VIII.C.  

Providers interested in offering services are kindly requested to direct their inquiries and proposals to the respective Participating Subdivisions. The Trust's primary responsibility involves receiving and distributing opioid settlement funds to the Commonwealth, Counties, and Litigating Subdivisions. Please note that the Trust does not provide recommendations or endorsements for services or providers. Any engagement with providers is solely at the discretion and responsibility of the Participating Subdivisions.

A summary of payments received by the Trust and distributions made and anticipated to be made by the Trust is available here. 

You may have received email or phone correspondence from BrownGreer PLC regarding certain National Opioid Settlement funds to be distributed to your Participating Subdivision. The Trust understands that this correspondence may relate to proceeds from the McKinsey Opioid MDL settlement.

According to the Amended Trust Order, the “purpose” of the Trust is “…to distribute Trust Funds obtained by the Commonwealth and its subdivisions from the Settlements and Other Settlements,” as those capitalized terms may be defined in the Trust Order (Trust Order, ¶V.A.). The definitions of “Settlements” and “Other Settlements” in the Amended Trust Order do not include the McKinsey Opioid MDL settlement.

Accordingly, the Trust is not involved in the McKinsey Opioid MDL settlement, and you will need to contact BrownGreer directly to confirm any details relating to that settlement or other settlements not distributed by the Trust.

This information is available on the Trust website here.

The timing for distributions is laid out in Section V.D.6 of the First Amended and Restated Trust Order.

The distributions for opioid settlement funds from Wave 2 will be made using the same formula as the Wave 1 distributions. The Commonwealth Court Order will be amended to reflect the additional settlements.

It is the preference of the Trust and the intent of the settlements that the funds be put to use as quickly as possible, in order to help remediate the opioid epidemic in Pennsylvania. During the allocation discussions, which resulted in the Trust Order, there was consensus that those opioid settlement funds would be paid and spent as promptly as possible, to accomplish this objective. Therefore, while the Trust would entertain specific uses that would be spread out over a longer period of time, it is anticipated that the funds would be spent as quickly as possible.

The Trust receives and distributes opioid settlement funds to the Commonwealth, Counties, and Litigating Subdivisions. The Trust will also receive and compile reports on opioid settlement fund use from Participating Subdivisions. That information will be posted on the Trust website in 2024. Specific concerns regarding opioid settlement fund use can be shared with the Trust once that process is complete. In the meantime, concerns regarding Participating Subdivision spending may be directed to the individual Participating Subdivisions.

The Trust does not have a requirement for a bid process. That is a Participating Subdivision decision.

If the PCCD grant is for a substance use disorder program, opioid settlement funds may be used as a match for this grant as long they are to be spent according to the uses authorized in the settlement agreements and in accordance with Exhibit E.

The Trust receives and distributes opioid settlement funds to the Commonwealth, Counties, and Litigating Subdivisions. While the Trust has made every effort to keep administrative costs to a minimum, the Trust has engaged the expertise of Penn State University, the University of Pittsburgh, and Temple University to review and compile annual reports on opioid settlement fund usage by Participating Subdivisions, as well as support for administrative services from the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania.

There is currently no settlement agreement with Endo International because the company declared bankruptcy. Settlement proceeds, if any, will be distributed according to the bankruptcy plan.

All decisions regarding the use of opioid settlement funds are made locally by Participating Subdivisions. The Board of Trustees is responsible for reviewing remediation programs reported by Participating Subdivisions to ensure spending by Participating Subdivisions is in compliance with Exhibit E of the national settlement agreements.

The Trust did not seek the entry of the First Amended and Restated Trust Order. The work to amend the original Commonwealth Court Order was carried out by the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General (“OAG”).

The primary purposes of the amendments to the Trust Order were to incorporate the Wave 2 settlements and to require the reporting of opioid settlement fund expenditures by Litigating Subdivisions as well as Counties. The amendments were achieved by motion of the OAG.

The Trust is not able to provide legal advice regarding individual claims or other non-Trust matters and suggests anyone with legal questions seek advice from their own legal counsel.

The Trust receives and distributes opioid settlement funds to the Commonwealth, Counties, and Litigating Subdivisions. Pennsylvania Counties have drug and alcohol offices called Single County Authorities (SCAs). SCAs utilize focus groups, which include individuals and families impacted by OUD, to oversee the delivery of treatment and prevention services in each County.

The Trust receives and distributes opioid settlement funds to the Commonwealth, Counties, and Litigating Subdivisions. Resources for recovery programs are available on the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs website. County health and human services departments would be an additional resource.

Please review the settlement documents for each of the national opioid settlements. Each settlement contains different stipulations regarding whether, and to what extent, funds can be used for non-opioid remediation.

It is your responsibility to ensure compliance with the terms of each national settlement and to report any non-opioid remediation spending to the Trust. The Trust will include eligible non-opioid remediation expenditures when calculating remaining funds in accordance with the applicable expenditure deadlines.

Subject to the cautionary note above, the technical advisory group will recommend that the Board of Trustees accept a use of funds for administration of abatement activities and programs as outlined in Exhibit E. Funds shall not be used for general administrative expenses. Administrative funds should not exceed 3% of abatement funds received. Please note, any earned interest may be used for general administrative expenses.

No, Exhibit E does not authorize spending of OSF on law enforcement. There may, however, be certain kinds of training or other programs for first responders (e.g., LEAD) that would be authorized by Exhibit E.

No, Exhibit E does not authorize spending of OSF on law enforcement. There may, however, be certain kinds of training or other programs for first responders (e.g., LEAD) that would be authorized by Exhibit E.

Subject to the cautionary note above, the technical advisory group will recommend that the Board of Trustees accept a use of funds for capital expenditures. The trust recommends securing a loan should the need exceed the 18-month period. Recipients who are undertaking capital expenditures may hold payments longer than 18 months if they have sought and received approval to do so from the Trust for a designated capital project. However, it is the Trust's strong preference that capital projects be undertaken with loans so that they can get up and running as soon as possible, with settlement funds paying for the cost of the line over time. If funds are held longer than 18 months without approval from the Trust, the recipient may be denied future funding by the Trust, consistent with the terms of the Trust Order.

Subject to the cautionary note above, the technical advisory group will recommend that the Board of Trustees accept the use of funds for the purchase of a body scanner as outlined in Exhibit E. As a general recommendation, please confirm the efficacy of the equipment and limit the use of funds to no more than 50% of funds received to purchase any one piece of equipment. The technical advisory group recommends that counties ensure funding is being provided to programs that support Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) and any co-occurring Substance Use Disorder or Mental Health (SUD/MH) conditions through evidence-based or evidence-informed programs.

Unless there is additional information for a specific usage related to OUD, AEDs are not considered opioid remediation and the technical advisory group could not recommend to the Board of Trustees that it accept such use of funds pursuant to Exhibit E of the settlement agreements. The Trust recommends ensuring funding is being provided to programs that support Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) and any co-occurring Substance Use Disorder or Mental Health (SUD/MH) conditions through evidence-based or evidence-informed programs.

Subject to the cautionary note above, the technical advisory group will recommend that the Board of Trustees accept a use of funds for fentanyl test strips as described in Exhibit E.

Subject to the cautionary note above, the technical advisory group will recommend that the Board of Trustees accept a use of funds for supplies being reimbursed. However, the EMS service costs and fees are not permissible. EMS can utilize the funding to receive supplies and training. This is the only permissible use of funds for that service.

Subject to the cautionary note above, the technical advisory group will recommend that the Board of Trustees accept a use of funds for supportive services with a for profit entity as long as the services provided are included in Exhibit E. The technical advisory group recommends ensuring that funding is being provided to programs that support Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) and any co-occurring Substance Use Disorder or Mental Health (SUD/MH) conditions through evidence-based or evidence-informed programs.

Subject to the cautionary note above, the technical advisory group will recommend that the Board of Trustees accept the use of funds for these items, however, please note that only the percentage of time spent on OUD, as outlined in Exhibit E, would be considered allowable spending. Any other services provided, including services for a police task force, would reduce the amount of settlement funds that can be allocated to these items.

Subject to the cautionary note above, the technical advisory group will recommend that the Board of Trustees accept the use of funds for the establishment of a Mortality Review Team but please note that only the percentage of time spent on OUD, as outlined in Exhibit E, would be considered allowable spending.

Subject to the cautionary note above, the technical advisory group will recommend that the Board of Trustees accept the use of funds for these items, however, please note that only the percentage of time spent on OUD, as outlined in Exhibit E, would be considered allowable spending. Any other services provided, including services for a police task force, would reduce the amount of settlement funds that can be allocated to these items.

Subject to the cautionary note above, the technical advisory group will recommend that the Board of Trustees accept a use of funds for the Bridge device. The technical advisory group recommends ensuring that funding is being provided to programs that support Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) and any co-occurring Substance Use Disorder or Mental Health (SUD/MH) conditions through evidence-based or evidence-informed programs.

Any settlement funds used for a county Drug Task Force must directly support the OUD community, any type of policing activity would not be considered allowable spending. Additionally, a county must be able to demonstrate that all fund use is in accordance with Exhibit E.

The Trust receives and disburses settlement funds to the Commonwealth, counties, and subdivisions. The Trust does not dictate how settlement funds are to be spent. As long as settlement funds are spent according to the uses authorized in the settlement agreements and in accordance with Exhibit E, program identification and spending decisions are the discretion of the counties and subdivisions.

The Trust receives and disburses settlement funds to the Commonwealth, counties, and subdivisions. The Trust does not dictate how settlement funds are to be spent. As long as settlement funds are spent according to the uses authorized in the settlement agreements and in accordance with Exhibit E, program identification and spending decisions are the discretion of the counties and subdivisions.
 

The use of funds for administrative expenses is restricted to abatement activities and programs as outlined in Exhibit E. Oversight and management of the funds would be considered an administrative expense. Whether it is a government entity or non-governmental entity, funds shall not be used for general administrative expenses, including oversight and management of the funds. The recipient of the funds is ultimately responsible for fund oversight. Please note, any earned interest on settlement funds may be used for general administrative expenses.

The use of funds for administrative expenses is restricted to abatement activities and programs as outlined in Exhibit E. Funds shall not be used for general administrative expenses, including bank fees. Please note, any earned interest on settlement funds may be used for general administrative expenses.