Why Should Delaware Care?
Delaware is sitting on millions of dollars in settlement funds it won as part of national lawsuits against opioid manufacturers and distributors who fueled a nationwide opioid crisis. Management of the $250 million pot was called into question following reports of possible fraud last summer.
New leadership is taking over the embattled Delaware board responsible for overseeing the state’s quarter-billion dollar fund designed to help people addicted to opioids.
On Friday, Gov. Matt Meyer appointed the state’s substance abuse director, Joanna Champney, to replace former Gov. Bethany Hall-Long as co-chair of the Prescription Opioid Settlement Distribution Commission.
The commission is responsible for recommending how the state allocates those relief dollars to Delaware charities.
It is not immediately clear how Champney may change how the commission acts. Her office told Spotlight Delaware that she was unavailable for an interview prior to publication.
The change follows more than six months of controversy surrounding the fund, which was initially sparked last summer by a letter the Delaware attorney general that warned of widespread deficiencies in the program, including potential fraud committed by a Kent County nonprofit.
Champney, who previously served as a voting member of the opioid commission, will now take over from the lieutenant governor’s office tasks such as grant scoring and regular performance reviews.
Her first major task will be managing a $13 million grant phase that was placed on hold amid the controversy that erupted after Attorney General Kathy Jennings’ letter. She will also have to figure out how to implement recommendations made last fall by Wilmington consulting firm Social Contract.
What is the POSDC?
In recent years, a coalition of states have won close to $57 billion from legal battles waged with opioid manufacturers and distributors. Delaware’s share was about $250 million.
Just last month, Jennings’ office secured $27 million from a settlement from Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family that would contribute to the fund.
In 2021, Delaware legislators created the opioid commission, after those settlement dollars started flowing into the state.
Its responsibilities include recommending how Delaware would spend its quarter-billion dollar windfall in response to an opioid epidemic that’s killed thousands. It was initially co-chaired by Hall-Long and Jennings, who subsequently butted heads over how to spend the money.
The opioid commission works in tandem with another governing body known as the Behavioral Health Consortium, which lies under the authority of the lieutenant governor’s office.
Applications for opioid settlement funds are first reviewed by the opioid commission. Following the review, the commission votes on whether to recommend the application for approval by the Behavioral Health Consortium, which makes the final determination about any grants
If the Behavioral Health Consortium approves a grant, then oversight and day-to-day communication with grantees returns to opioid commission staff, which in recent years was run by Hall-Long.
Though it doesn’t have the final say, the opioid commission’s recommendations are typically followed, making it instrumental in how millions of dollars get into the hands of organizations trying to stem the tide of fatal overdoses in Delaware.
In 2023, at least 527 people died from fatal illicit drug overdoses in the state. Preliminary numbers show a drop in fatal overdoses in 2024, but former opioid commission officials largely attributed that drop to better access to the life-saving drug naloxone, an opioid overdose reversal agent.
What may change with the POSDC?
While it’s unclear what immediate changes may come to the opioid commission, there will be a transition of power to Champney, who serves as director of the Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health.
A press release announcing her appointment said management and oversight of the grants will now be managed by Champney’s staff rather than the lieutenant governor’s office.
Although Champney was unavailable for an interview prior to publication, she said in a LinkedIn post that she’s grateful the governor selected her for the role, and that the commission will be a part of her office.
“I am eager to continue working with the commission members, staff, and current and future grantees to continue this urgent and important work to save lives,” she wrote.
Jennings said she supports Champney in the position, and that she’s proven herself as a leader in the substance abuse world.
Additionally, she said Champney has the “strategic guidance” to lead the commission and make the most of the settlement funds.
“I’ve gotten to know Joanna and her work over the years and have consistently been impressed by her professionalism, intellect and ability,” Jennings said in a statement.
The commission’s grant review and recommendations was the subject of a Spotlight Delaware investigation that found applications were often rushed to approval with little time to review before a vote.
First for Champney’s office will be to distribute a $13 million round of grants that was first approved in July 2024 but has been placed into administrative limbo after Jennings’ requested that all such awards be paused until after Social Contract completed its report.
The $13 million funding phase was approved in the midst of a heated gubernatorial primary between Hall-Long and Meyer.
Social Contract released its report in late-October, as the state prepared for the general election the following week. Since then, there hasn’t been any meeting with the full 14-member commission to discuss the new round of grants.
The full POSDC is scheduled to meet on March 3, according to its website.
Get Involved
The POSDC is set to meet at 1 p.m. March 3 in person at the Delaware Technical Community College Stanton Campus or on Zoom. Read the public meeting post here.
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