After giving more than $6 million in grants in September aimed at supporting substance abuse and addiction treatment services across the state, the Kansas Fights Addiction Grant Review Board has awarded a second round of funding, this time providing more than $4 million in support of prevention services.
The latest KFA grants, which focus on prevention, providers and health systems, and public safety, were awarded to 24 projects. Funding through the grant program comes from money recovered by the Kansas Attorney General’s Office through opioid legal settlements.
The quality and quantity of applications for the prevention grants prompted the KFA board to double the amount of funding, originally expected not to exceed $2 million, to more than $4 million. That allowed the board to fund 24 projects instead of the originally anticipated 11.
The Kansas Fights Addiction Act, enacted in 2021 by the Kansas Legislature, authorized the creation of the KFA board. Sunflower Foundation serves as the administrator for the KFA grant program. Through settlements with major pharmaceutical companies, distributors and related firms, Kansas has secured more than $340 million to be paid to the state over the next 18 years.
The KFA board approved prevention grants to the following organizations:
Citizens Foundation – $129,997
CKF Addiction Treatment – $200,000
Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas – $150,050
Crawford County Sheriff’s Office – $19,654
DCCCA, Inc. – $194,519
First Call Alcohol/Drug Prevention & Recovery – $170,059
Heartland Community Health Center – $200,000
Johnson County Mental Health Center – $200,000
Kansas Board of Pharmacy – $200,000
Kansas Bureau of Investigation – $110,000
Kansas Highway Patrol – $186,293
Konza Prairie Community Health Center, Inc. – $200,000
Leavenworth County Sheriff’s Office – $199,226
Mirror, Inc. – $132,814
Overland Park Police Department – $195,000
Pratt Health Foundation – $189,700
Prevention and Resiliency Services – $200,000
Prime Fit Youth Foundation – $198,983
Republic County Hospital – $177,943
Thrive Allen County – $197,093
University of Kansas Medical Center Research Institute – $199,929
University of Kansas Medical Center Research Institute – $199,458
Wichita State University – $119,038
Wilson County Health Department – $109,520
The 59 grants and more than $10 million awarded by the KFA Board in 2023 will be used to assist approximately 37,100 Kansans in support of substance abuse and addiction services in Kansas.
“This is unprecedented,” Chris Teters, Assistant Attorney General, said in a statement released by the Attorney General’s Office. “This is $10 million that didn’t exist in the opioid abatement space that is going to target emergency needs in areas that either really need additional assistance or may not have had access to resources previously.
“These awards will expand access to naloxone. We will be using this opportunity to make naloxone available to communities and organizations across the state at the lowest cost possible.”
Naloxone is a fast-acting medication used to reverse the effects of opioid overdose.
According to the Attorney General’s Office, estimates show that more than 107,000 people died from a drug overdose in the U.S. in 2021. Of those, 75% involved opioids. In 2019, Kansas reported 393 overdose deaths, compared to 477 in 2020 and 678 in 2021, the most recent year for which statistics are available.
Eligibility for the KFA grant program is limited to state agencies, local and county governments, and nonprofit organizations that provide services in Kansas for the purpose of preventing, reducing, treating, or otherwise abating or remediating substance abuse or addiction. Applicants also must release all legal claims arising from covered conduct against each defendant named in the opioid settlement agreements.
In addition to administering the KFA grant program, Sunflower Foundation also is supporting the development of a comprehensive statewide needs assessment of substance use disorder (SUD) systems and related work in Kansas. The foundation is currently in the process of reviewing vendors that have applied for the opportunity to lead the needs assessment work and anticipates announcing its choice on or before Nov. 1.
To learn more about the KFA grantees and their projects, check out the 2023 KFA grant project summaries. To see the estimated impact of all 59 2023 grant projects, see the KFA Estimated Impact Report.