MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) — Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley signed legislation Wednesday allocating nearly $7.5 million in opioid settlement funds to eight initiatives aimed at preventing overdoses, expanding treatment and addressing substance use disorders.

“The opioid crisis has devastated families, strained our systems, and disproportionately harmed communities of color across our county,” Crowley said. “We've made measurable progress in this fight, and the projects approved in this next cohort build on that momentum, directing resources to the programs best positioned to reach people where they are.”

Crowley added that his administration remains committed to using the funds responsibly and effectively.

The funding represents the fourth round of opioid prevention projects approved as part of Milwaukee County’s multiyear strategy to address the opioid crisis and advance health equity.

Milwaukee County is expected to receive $111 million in opioid settlement funds over 18 years from drug distributors, manufacturers, pharmacies and others held responsible for contributing to the opioid epidemic. County officials say it is the largest opioid settlement recovery by any local government in Wisconsin.

Several programs receiving funding have already operated during the first three years of the county’s settlement strategy.

The eight initiatives approved for fiscal years 2027 through 2029 include:

• Aging and Disabilities Services Opioid Prevention Project: Expands outreach to older adults at risk of opioid misuse or overdose through data and GIS mapping, door-to-door canvassing, harm reduction supplies and engagement with senior living facilities. The program will also add a bilingual outreach worker.
• Opioid Responsive Park System: Equips Milwaukee County Parks rangers with naloxone and overdose-response training, while adding sharps-disposal infrastructure and syringe collection and cleanup services in high-need locations.
• Community Contingency Management Treatment Pilot Program: Expands substance use disorder treatment through contingency management, an evidence-based approach that includes drug testing, individual and group therapy and incentives for negative drug tests.
• Grief Outreach and Grief-Informed Care: Provides outreach and support to families affected by fatal overdoses while collecting data about overdose risk factors, strengthening referrals and expanding trauma- and grief-informed training.
• Substance Use Disorder System: Provides flexible funding to Milwaukee County Department of Health and Human Services Behavioral Health Services providers offering outpatient, residential and recovery support services.
• Strengthening Opioid and Substance Use Education and Treatment for Justice-Involved Youth: Expands prevention, treatment and community-based services for young people detained at the Vel R. Phillips Juvenile Detention Center and those returning to the community. The county plans to hire a clinical director and an additional clinician.
• Medication-Assisted Treatment Behind the Walls: Provides FDA-approved medications alongside behavioral counseling for people incarcerated in Milwaukee County correctional facilities who are living with opioid use disorder.
• Medical Examiner’s Office Staffing: Supports positions including a forensic pathologist, medicolegal death investigator and forensic chemist to improve investigation turnaround times and strengthen overdose-related data collection.

County officials say the latest round of funding is intended to address gaps in services, expand evidence-based treatment and reduce disparities in communities disproportionately affected by the opioid crisis.