Last week, Governor Phil Murphy announced the allocation of nearly $50 million from New Jersey’s Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund to support programs, connect New Jerseyans with tools to reduce overdoses and other harms of substance use, and support residents’ treatment and recovery.

This new allocation, the State of New Jersey brings the total to more than $324 million in state-level opioid settlement resources directed toward prevention, treatment, recovery, and community supports. The new investments will allow the State to expand its treatment infrastructure, reduce barriers to care, and enhance services that improve long-term stability and health for residents. 

The new funds allocation of $47.84 million includes a mix of expansions to evidence-based programs, capital investments to serve more patients, family health-focused innovative programs, and strategic planning initiatives, including the following. 

• Bridge Access to Community-Based Substance Use Treatment:$15 million to provide access to treatment for uninsured individuals.
• Capital Investments for Substance Use Treatment Providers:$8 million for critical facility repairs, modernization, expansion, and mobile unit investments to improve treatment access.
• Housing Continuum Expansion:$10.5 million over three years toestablishnew housing and wraparound services for medically complex individuals in Essex County, including 20 housing slots, case management, provider certification and training, and drop-in center capacity building.
• Keeping Families Together Expansion:$4.86 million over three years to support 30 to 35additionalfamilies and address rising housing costs in this nationally recognized Housing First supportive housing model.
• Perinatal Centers of Excellence:$6.2 million over two years to launch a pilot center offering integrated maternity, behavioral health, and wraparound services to address substance use disorder, the leading cause of pregnancy-associated deaths in New Jersey.
• Monitoring and Evaluation of State-Level Opioid Settlement Programs:$3 million over three years to measure program outcomes and ensure accountability and impact of settlement-funded programs.
• Study on Administrative Barriers to Care:$250,000 toidentifypolicy changes that can improve access to care and advance a public-health-focused, harm-reduction strategy.

The recommendations were advanced by the Opioid Recovery and Remediation Advisory Council, which was established in 2022 and charged with advising the Administration on the effective, equitable use of opioid settlement dollars. The Advisory Council’s Strategic Plan prioritizes housing, harm reduction, treatment access, and coordinated wraparound services. 

New Jersey, along with eligible counties and municipalities, will receive more than $1 billion in settlement funds over the next two decades. The newly allocated funding builds on more than $276 million in previously allocated opioid settlement spending, including nearly $145 million to continue growing harm reduction services through 2030.  

Requests for proposals and grant availabilities relating to the State’s portion of opioid settlement funds are available on a rolling basis. 

Contact: Paul Penna, Director of Government Affairs, ppenna@njlm.org, 609-695-3481, x110.