EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS
ONE ASHBURTON PLACE, BOSTON, MA 02108
Tel: (617) 573-1600
Fax: (617) 573-1891
www.mass.gov/eohhs
MAURA T. HEALEY KATHLEEN E. WALSH
GOVERNOR SECRETARY
KIMBERLEY DRISCOLL
LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR
October 1, 2024
Michael D. Hurley, Clerk
State House, Room 335
Boston, MA 02133
Steven T. James, Clerk
State House, Room 145
Boston, MA 02133
RE: FY2024 Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund Annual Report
Dear Clerks Hurley and James:
On behalf of the Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund Advisory Council (Council), I am pleased to
provide the following letter summarizing the Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund’s activities,
revenues, and expenditures, pursuant to Chapter 309 of the Acts of 2020. Please accept this letter as the
Fund’s Annual Report.
Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund (“ORRF” or “Fund”): To date, the Fund has received
$207,245,292.38 from opioid settlement recoveries secured by the Attorney General’s Office (AGO),
including $92,604,460.64 in fiscal year (FY) 2024. Per statute, these funds are administered by the
Executive Office of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Opioid Recovery and
Remediation Fund Advisory Council. During the Council’s fourth year, a total of $23,842,846.17 in
expenditures were made from the Fund. Please find an overview of these expenditures in the Council
Activities section below. Importantly, the Council engaged in a strategic prioritization process in FY2024
to help optimize the Fund’s impact in addressing racial and geographic disparities and promoting a full
continuum of care across the opioid use disorder (OUD) lifespan. As guided by the Council, the ORRF’s
strategic priorities are equity; service expansion and enhancement; workforce; family supports; social
determinants of health; and data collection and analysis. Pursuant to Massachusetts’s State Subdivision
Agreement, the ORRF is also responsible for municipal capacity-building and technical support as cities
and towns work to leverage municipal opioid settlement dollars to combat the opioid crisis. Guided by
these priorities, the ORRF developed a 5-year spending plan that calls for increased investments in
FY2025-2029 to keep pace with funds coming into the ORRF, to ensure the Fund is maximizing its impact
in the Commonwealth’s efforts to combat the opioid epidemic, especially through an equity lens. Under
the plan, a minimum of $55 million in investments across the ORRF’s six strategic priorities has been
identified and committed for FY2025, as described further below.
Council Activities: Since our last Annual Report, the Council has met four times, which it has spent
prioritizing strategic initiatives in accordance with the mission, vision and principles of the ORRF
Strategic Framework; developing a 5-year spending plan based on these priorities; welcoming and
onboarding new Council members; and discussing and providing feedback on key initiatives, including
the ORRF’s work to (a) expand low-threshold housing, (b) improve substance use disorder (SUD) data
collection and analysis, (c) provide technical support for municipal opioid abatement, and (d) expand
community-based investments. The ORRF strategic framework and priority initiatives reinforce the
Commonwealth’s and its municipalities’ shared commitment to using abatement funds to supplement
and strengthen SUD prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery, particularly in historically
underserved communities that have experienced a disproportionately high rate of opioid-related
overdose deaths. Below, please find an overview of the Fund’s FY2024 expenditures and FY2025
commitments to date, organized around the ORRF’s six strategic priorities.
Equity
FY24 ORRF Commitment: $4.38 million ($16 million commitment planned for FY25)
• Launched the Redefining Community Wellness Grant-Making Program to intentionally center BIPOC
voices throughout the grantmaking and capacity building process. This funding supports activities
that include a wide range of programming to address substance use disorder directly, as well as
indirectly by focusing on the social determinants of health and building organizational capacity.
Moreover, this initiative is guided by community advisory boards whose members reflect the
populations that have been disproportionately affected by the opioid epidemic.
• Invested in additional Black and Latino Men’s Re-Entry program sites, funding local nonprofits and
community-based organizations to provide culturally responsive wraparound services and case
management pre-and post-release, including individual recovery support for SUD.
• Launched the Mosaic Opioid Recovery Partnership, an innovative public-private partnership with
RIZE Massachusetts to implement an equity-centered community grantmaking program designed to
create a pathway of access for grassroots organizations and municipalities to apply for ORRF
funding. Mosaic seeks to foster innovative community efforts across the OUD lifespan, promote
regional collaboration, and enhance local efforts funded through municipal settlement dollars, with
a focus on organizations serving historically underserved communities that have experienced a
disproportionately high rate of opioid-related overdose death.
Service Expansion & Enhancement
FY24 ORRF Commitment: $10.5 million ($24.5 million commitment planned for FY25)
• Established and/or expanded hospital-based SUD programs at 15 hospitals located throughout the
state to provide addiction consult services and/or bridge clinics to increase access to care and
strengthen linkages to ongoing care.
• Expanded access to medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) by funding five new programs
located throughout Massachusetts to add mobile components and/or medication units in areas of
high need.
• Expanded access to harm reduction programming through Syringe Services Programs (SSPs) to
include services not currently covered by federal funding, such as access to non-injection harm
 reduction services and supplies, and additional education and information on the proper use of
fentanyl test strips.
Workforce
• Carried over $2 million of the ORRF’s FY2023 $15 million commitment to workforce into FY2024, to
fund a second and final round of The Substance Use Treatment Provider Loan Repayment Initiative.
This second round opened in Summer 2024 and award notifications are anticipated to be shared in
Spring 2025, with the total round consisting of $2 million.
Family Supports
FY24 ORRF Commitment: $500K ($3.5 million commitment planned for FY25)
• Funding a nonprofit that offers statewide peer grief support to individuals and families who have
lost loved ones due to SUD, in which trained staff and volunteers serve as peer grief helpers who
have experienced similar losses, which has led them to support other grieving people.
Social Determinants of Health
FY24 ORRF Commitment: $6.65 million ($8.0 million commitment planned for FY25)
• Expanded low-barrier recovery housing options and other basic needs support, including access to
technology and transportation for high-risk populations in historically underserved communities, in
which 585 individuals have been sheltered across seven low-threshold housing sites, and 200 of
these individuals have been placed in permanent housing through a housing navigation program or
have been housed through reunification with friends or family.
Data Collection & Analysis
FY24 ORRF Commitment: $500K ($2.0 million commitment planned for FY25)
• Deployed a new SUD Community Dashboard housed at the state’s Bureau of Substance Addiction
Services (BSAS), which includes (1) Community Profiles that provide disaggregated city, town, and
county level data on substance-related deaths, emergency events, and services; and (2) a BSAS
Enrollments page, which reports on individuals who received services for SUD, broken out by
geography, fiscal year, and demographic characteristics.
Municipal Capacity-Building & Support
Annual ORRF Commitment: $1.1 million
Per Massachusetts’s State Subdivision Agreement, the ORRF is responsible for providing technical
resources and support to participating municipalities receiving opioid abatement funding.
• Launched Care Massachusetts: The Opioid Abatement Partnership as the state-sponsored training
and technical assistance (TTA) program for municipal opioid abatement. Care Massachusetts’s goal
is to ensure municipalities are equipped with knowledge, skills, and resources to effectively oversee
opioid abatement activities at the local level. As the TTA provider, Care Massachusetts responded to
over 480 individual requests from 179 municipalities; held 17 Office Hour sessions covering an array
of topics including annual reporting, community engagement, and cross-sector collaboration;
convened five regional forums; and hosted a two-day inaugural conference attended by 537
participants from 169 municipalities.
• Procured the services of the Massachusetts Association of Health Boards to provide training and
technical assistance aimed at helping municipalities navigate the fiscal and/or legal considerations
associated with pooling opioid abatement funds across jurisdictions, including conducting
consultations with existing Public Health Excellence grantees; drafting and amending intermunicipal
 agreements and memorandums of understanding; complying with municipal finance laws pertaining
to fund appropriation and utilization; and establishing governance committees.
The Council continues to receive regular updates from the AGO on ongoing opioid litigation and
settlements, including an update during the June 2024 Council meeting in which the AGO estimated the
Commonwealth will receive a total of $987,695,331.46 in settlement funds over the next 18 years.
Approximately $610 million of these settlement funds, or roughly 60%, will go directly to the Fund, with
the remaining 40% split across 150 cities and towns in the Commonwealth.
The Council recognizes the significant impact of these settlement funds in our State’s efforts to combat
the opioid epidemic, especially through an equity lens. In FY2024, we are pleased to highlight in
particular the innovative public-private partnership with RIZE Massachusetts supporting community and
municipal initiatives, described above, which is an annual commitment of up to $6 million through the
life of the 18-year Fund, and thus represents 18% of the entire ORRF principal. The Council looks
forward to deploying additional investments in FY2025 pursuant to its six strategic priorities and 5-year
spending plan, to help drive the systemic changes needed to combat the opioid crisis. The Council also
looks forward to renewing a series of listening sessions across the Commonwealth in FY2025 to begin
planning for its next 5-year spending cycle.
The Council acknowledges and appreciates the Legislature’s, Attorney General’s, and Executive Branch’s
continued commitment to engage in assertive opioid prevention and treatment initiatives, and
investments in upstream prevention, particularly among historically underserved communities.
Sincerely,
Kathleen E. Walsh
Secretary, Executive Office of Health & Human Services and
Non-voting Chair, Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund Advisory Council
Cc: The Honorable Karen E. Spilka, Senate President
The Honorable Ronald Mariano, Speaker of the House
 APPENDIX
Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund Statute
Legal Authority: Chapter 309 of the Acts of 2020
Statute:
Section 35OOO (a) There shall be an Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund. Expenditures from the
fund shall be made by the Executive Office of Health and Human services, without further appropriation
and consistent with the terms of settlements made in connection with claims arising from the
manufacture, marketing, distribution or dispensing of opioids, as applicable. The secretary of health and
human services, in consultation with the Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund advisory council
established in subsection (b), shall administer the fund.
The fund shall be expended to mitigate the impacts of the opioid epidemic in the commonwealth,
including, but not limited to, expanding access to opioid use disorder prevention, intervention,
treatment and recovery options. Amounts credited to the fund shall not be subject to further
appropriation and monies remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not revert to the General
Fund, but shall instead be available for expenditure during the next fiscal year. Any fiscal year-end
balance in the fund shall be excluded from the calculation of the consolidated net surplus pursuant to
section 5C of chapter 29.
There shall be credited to the fund: (i) amounts recovered by the commonwealth and credited thereto
in connection with claims arising from the manufacture, marketing, distribution or dispensing of opioids;
(ii) transfers from other funds authorized by the general court and so designated; (iii) funds from public
or private sources, including, but not limited to, gifts, grants, donations, rebates and settlements
received by the commonwealth designated to the fund; and (iv) any interest earned on such amounts.
(b) There shall be an Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund advisory council regarding the
expenditures from the fund. The council shall consist of the following members or their designees:
• the secretary of health and human services, who shall serve as a non-voting chair;
• 1 person to be appointed by the senate president;
• 1 person to be appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives;
• 1 person to be appointed by the minority leader of the senate;
• 1 person to be appointed by the minority leader of the house of representatives;
• 3 persons to be appointed by the governor, including not less than 1 person qualified by
experience with opioid use disorder, either first-hand or as a family member of an individual
with opioid use disorder;
• 3 persons to be appointed by the attorney general, including not less than 1 person
qualified by experience with opioid use disorder, either first-hand or as a family member of
an individual with opioid use disorder; and
• 10 people to be appointed by the Massachusetts Municipal Association, Inc., who are
officials employed by a city or town and who represent the diversity of the commonwealth’s
cities and towns; provided, however, that not less than 2 officials appointed under this
clause shall be employed by a city or town that is a gateway municipality, as defined in
 section 3A of chapter 23A; and provided, further, that no 2 officials appointed under this
clause shall be employed by a city or town that is in the same county.
In making appointments, the appointing authorities shall ensure that the council includes: (i) members
representing racially and socioeconomically diverse communities; (ii) members with public health
expertise concerning opioid use disorder; (iii) members with personal experience with opioid use
disorder; and (iv) members who will contribute to reducing disparities in health outcomes for
underserved communities experiencing opioid use disorder. The appointing authorities shall also
consider having racially diverse representation on the council.
The council shall hold no fewer than 4 meetings annually and the council shall make its
recommendations upon a majority vote. The council shall be subject to sections 18 to 25, inclusive, of
chapter 30A. Council members shall serve without compensation for terms of 2 years. Members shall be
reimbursed for actual expenses necessarily incurred in the performance of their duties. Any member
shall be eligible for reappointment. In the event of a vacancy, the original appointing authority shall
appoint a new member to fulfill the remainder of the unexpired term. Any member who is appointed
may be removed by the appointing authority. The secretary of health and human services shall provide
administrative support to the council.
(c) Annually, not later than October 1, the secretary of health and human services shall file a report
on the activity, revenue and expenditures to and from the fund in the prior fiscal year with the clerks of
the senate and the house of representatives, the house and senate committees on ways and means and
the joint committee on mental health, substance use and recovery and made available on the executive
office of health and human services’ public website. The report shall include, but not be limited to: (i)
the revenue credited to the fund; (ii) the amount of expenditures attributable to the administrative
costs of the executive office; (iii) an itemized list of the funds expended from the fund; and (iv) data and
an assessment of how well resources have been directed to vulnerable and under-served communities.
 Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund Advisory Council Membership
Council Chair (non-voting)
• Kate Walsh, Secretary, Executive Office of Health and Human Services
Appointed Members
• Charles Anderson MD, MPH, MBA, The Dimock Center
• Matilde Castiel, MD, Worcester Department of Health and Human Services
• Maureen Cavanagh, Magnolia New Beginnings
• Michele Clark, Boston Public Health Commission
• Abby Dean, LICSW, Brookline Health Department
• Lisa Golden, Lowell Health & Human Services Department
• Lindsay Hackett, City of Springfield
• Vaira Harik, Barnstable County Department of Human Services
• Adrian Madaro, Massachusetts House of Representatives
• Candice McClory, Lynn Department of Public Health
• John McGahan, Gavin Foundation
• Carla B. Monteiro, MSW, LICSW, Grayken Center for Addiction at Boston Medical Center
• Jeffery Olmstead, Amherst Fire Department
• Andy Ottoson, Berkshire Re