Why Should Delaware Care?
For years, local governments have been on the sidelines as millions of dollars meant to curb opioid overdose deaths have flowed into the state. But now, as leaders begin to attend more meetings and carve out their share, funds may soon be awarded.
After a rocky two-year rollout marked by limited access to hundreds of millions of dollars in opioid settlement funds, a group of Delaware’s local governments learned this week exactly how much money they could receive in the coming years to weather a fatal overdose crisis that has ravaged the state.
At a meeting of the Prescription Opioid Settlement Distribution Commission on Thursday, local and county leaders learned they could be entitled to 15% of annual distributions awarded through Delaware’s $250 million settlement fund won in legal battles with opioid manufacturers and distributors.
With that breakdown, many of the state’s municipalities are likely to receive six-figure grants in 2026, with more money slated to be allocated in the future.
The funding projections come as a committee of local leaders within the statewide opioid commission begins to find its footing after years of inactivity. The Local Governments Committee, made up of mayors and county leaders from across the state, can sidestep a competitive grant process to receive settlement dollars that private organizations have to follow.
The opioid commission’s executive director, Brad Owens, said the distribution process is not yet finalized. The full commission will vote to formally implement the allocation process and percentage in December.
If the protocol is approved, Owens said, the commission would work with local governments to establish how they’d like to spend those funds within 90 days.
In 2026, Owens said the commission hopes to approve $15 million in grants, of which the local governments would be entitled to $2.25 million, as well as an additional $1 million in “back pay” for funding cycles they previously missed.
Owens said this back pay would last for two years. Additionally, Owens said funds set aside for local governments would be split 50-50 between grants for counties and municipalities. He also said it did not bar municipalities from applying in the competitive process.
“If you would like to apply for competitive grants in round four, you’re more than welcome to,” Owens told local government leaders. “However, your applications will be scrutinized and compared to others.”
With these numbers in mind, here’s how much local governments could be entitled to in 2026, should nothing change with the funding protocol, according to a local governments committee presentation:
- New Castle County: $626,850
- Kent County: $518,507
- Sussex County: $479,641
- Wilmington: $441,065
- Dover: $248,602
- Seaford: $271,907
- Milford: $196,862
- Middletown: $94,349
- Newark: $252,602
- Smyrna: $119,610
How were payouts determined?
The commission used state data to find how many overdoses happened in these local governments, the demand for treatment in those areas, as well as population size to determine its grant amounts, Owens said.
Local governments would have the option to combine their funds with other jurisdictions to fund larger projects within their communities, Owens said. Those local governments would also have the option to contract with third-party providers to execute those grants.
One municipality, Dover, has already held public meetings to discuss how it hopes to use funding awarded by the commission. As part of these meetings, leaders said they hope to use the funds to create an addiction detox facility, expand existing treatment centers and deploy “mobile intervention units.”
Delaware is distinct in how it doles out settlement money to local governments. In other states, money from settlements goes directly to municipalities and counties to be spent at their own discretion.
In 2021, when opioid companies started to settle states’ claims, six county and municipal leaders in Delaware agreed to sign away their individual right to sue opioid companies in the future. Instead, they agreed to take seats on the Prescription Opioid Settlement Distribution Commission, which would manage the state’s settlement dollars.
Ultimately, 10 governments signed away their right to sue – the state’s three counties, and major towns and cities including Wilmington, Newark, Dover, Middletown, Milford and Seaford. Those municipalities received a spot on the opioid commission’s Local Governments Committee.
