January 24, 2025

Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar Announces Opioid Abatement Fund Council's Approval of $100 Million for 2025 Grant Plan

(AUSTIN) — Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar today applauded the Opioid Abatement Fund Council's (OAFC or Council) 2025 Grant Issuance Plan that could award up to $100 million in grants for approved proposals that respond to the statewide opioid crisis.

The available funding for these community-based grants will be divided among the 20 Regional Health Care Partnership regions.

Grants may be awarded for proposals that align with council-approved categories including treatment and coordination of care; prevention and public safety; recovery support services; and workforce development and training. This flexibility will allow Texas communities to decide what they most need to address the opioid crisis in their areas.

“I am grateful for the hard work and wisdom provided by the OAFC in establishing this strategy, and I am proud that my office continues to supply critical support as the Council battles a crisis that has claimed the lives of so many Texans,” said Hegar, who chairs the Council that approved these plans during its Jan. 8 meeting. “These grants will help our state begin to shift the narrative from tragic loss to hopeful resilience. Our partners in communities throughout Texas understand the programs and solutions that have proven effective at a local level. Together, we can capitalize on that knowledge to break the cycle and help prevent the loss that has impacted countless Texas families.”

“These community-based grants represent a unique opportunity to fund innovative solutions throughout Texas,” said Douglas Thornton, doctor of pharmacy, who was appointed to the Council by Health and Human Services Executive Commissioner Cecile Erwin Young. “As representatives of our regions, the Council strongly recommends leveraging these grants to support local solutions to expand treatment and recovery access. By evaluating the successes from different regions of the state, we can work to create a healthy future for all Texans.”

Specific grant opportunities in 2025 will include:

• Up to $25 million across all regions for short-term, Community-based Opioid Recovery Effort (CORE) grants. This funding will be available for one-time awards (single payment) or projects expected to last less than a year that fall within any council-approved category and strategy as provided by Texas Administrative Code (TAC).
• Up to $50 million across all regions for long-term CORE grants. These will be for multiyear projects that last for one to three years for any strategy within the Treatment and Coordination of Care and Recovery Support Services categories as provided by TAC.
• Up to $25 million for a council-selected targeted grant strategy lasting three to five years.

The Texas Legislature formed the OAFC in 2021 to ensure money recovered through the joint efforts of the state and its political subdivisions from statewide opioid settlement agreements is allocated fairly and spent to remediate the opioid crisis using efficient, cost-effective methods. The OAFC is made up of 13 appointed experts and Hegar as the non-voting presiding officer.

For more information about the CORE grants, go to the Comptroller's website.