READING, Pa. – The Berks County Commissioners on Thursday heard a presentation updating them on the use of Opioid Settlement funds from Jeffrey Auman, Berks Opioid Settlement Fund Coordinator and Kathy Noll, Executive Director of the Council on Chemical Abuse.

Beginning in 2021, a coalition of attorneys general reached settlements with opioid manufacturers and distributors who had directly contributed to the opioid addiction crisis.

Opioid settlement payments of $2.2 billion were allocated to the state and to counties throughout Pennsylvania. The funds were distributed beginning in 2022 and are scheduled to continue until 2038.

The purpose of the money is to fund opioid overdose prevention, treatment, harm reduction, recovery support and other related programs.

Noll explained that the settlement funds required the county to develop policies and procedures specific to the funds which develop best practices.

“What we’ve learned is that it’s really important for us to identify and respond to what we call Berks County/COCA priorities in our community,” Noll said.

Noll offered an example of the medicated assistant treatment program at the Berks County Prison, which is costing about $800,000 a year and is only possible through the existence of the settlement funds.

“It is a priority, as well as the behavioral health counseling treatment at the prison,” she said. “And then what we’ve done is we’ve developed a request for proposal process, (from community organizations and programs)” Noll said. “COCA has been managing drug and alcohol funds for Berks County for over 50 years, so when these opioid settlement funds became available, we approached the county commissioners with a plan, and they decided that they would contract with COCA to manage these funds.”

Noll said she and Auman meet with Chief Administrative Officer Kevin S. Barnhardt and District Attorney John Adams on a regular basis so that COCA can coordinate with the county to assess the needs.

Auman said the total projected amount that the county has and will be receiving is $24.98 million.

Auman said the total received from 2022 through 2025 was $8.68 million, with future disbursements expected to be $16.3 million through 2038.

Auman explained there is currently $3.5 million available in the fund and that there is an annual budget of approximately $2 million.

“As we review available funding, we would begin with what we consider COCA priorities and then prioritized community needs for the remaining funding,” Auman said.

In other business, the commissioners appointed Justin Loose to become Chief Information Security Officer, effective April 29, at an annual salary of $153,000.

Barnhardt said Loose previously worked for the county for 15 years and that he will be an asset to the county’s information systems.

Also Thursday, the commissioners voted to increase the Berks Heim daily room rates beginning July 1. The new rates will be: $515 for a private room (currently $489); $480 for a semi-private room (currently $457); $525 for a rehabilitation private room (currently $500) and $500 for a rehabilitation semi-private room (currently $475.)