Jackson, Mich. (WKHM) — Three Jackson County organizations will each receive $100,000 of Michigan Opioid Settlement funds for a two-year grant period that begins in January (2026) and runs through December of 2027.
The Jackson County Board of Commissioners approved the total of $300,000 of these funds to be dispersed at their December 16 full board meeting.
Family Services & Children’s Aid, the Home of New Vision*, and Andy’s Place* will each receive $100,000 at the beginning of the grant period. This comes following a Request for Proposals (RFP) seeking innovative, evidence-based strategies to prevent and address the opioid epidemic locally.
The RFP was issued by the Jackson County Health Department (JCHD) on behalf of the board, with a panel of three JCHD employees evaluating and scoring each proposal based on a modified version of the Michigan Association of Counties’ RFP Scoring Template.
Each proposal was evaluated based on alignment with opioid abatement strategies, including:
- Prevention programs
- Evidence-based data collection and research analyzing the effectiveness of the
abatement strategies within the state - Naloxone or other FDA-approved drug to reverse opioid overdoses
- Addressing the needs of pregnant and postpartum women
- Expanding treatment for Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS)
- Expansion of warm hand-off programs and recovery services
In September 2024, the Jackson County Board of Commissioners approved the first Opioid RFP award to Home of New Vision for a two-year project supporting the Jackson Engagement Center, totaling $240,000.
Additional settlements from several pharmaceutical companies are projected to bring Jackson County more than $3 million over the next fifteen years.
*Awards for Home of New Vision and Andy’s Place are contingent on the organizations adjusting their proposal and budget to the award amount, as they requested an amount greater than $100,000 on their proposals.