2025-10-20 Opioid fundingOpioid Funding Allocation
October 20, 2025
10:32 a.m.
Present: Commissioner Brummer, Commissioner Pollock, Commissioner Swope, County Manager Ryan
Barrett, Rob Snaza, Chris Sweet, Rick Van Wyck, Meja Handlen, Becky Butler, Kevin Englebertson
Guest(s): Usha Sahadeva-Brooks, Paul Crowner, Tim Wood and Michael Blessing
Recorder: Tammy Martin
Public comment: None
Becky Butler said the goal of the meeting is to outline expenditures for 2026. Current opioid settlement
funds help pay for services for Youth Advocacy Center (YAC), substance use disorders(SUD) and mental
health services within the Jail and for services provided by the Sheriff’s Enforcement Team. Becky noted
there are not enough opioid settlement funds to cover all programs in 2026 for PHSS, the Jail or the
Sheriff’s Office.
Public Health – Meja Handlen discussed the Youth Advocacy Center, which provides support for victims
and their families. The opioid settlement funds help finance mental health and substance use disorder
(SUD) programs as part of prevention efforts.
Sheriff Snaza emphasized the importance of continuing to support YAC, highlighting the significant work
the group does. He recommended maintaining funding for the program as long as funds were available.
The current budget allocates approximately $11,000 to the YAC.
Jail - The Board had authorized $600,000 in funding for 2025 for the One Washington Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) and is reviewing this for 2026. These funds support treatment, on-going care, and
prevention services. The funding also covers the jail’s medical program, including SUD treatment, mental
health, and alcoholism care, with the help from Cascade Behavioral Health and NaphCare. The need for
the Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) program remains high, and Chief Sweet said no grant funding
is currently available to assist. Commissioner Pollock recommended exploring potential Medicaid grant
opportunities. Chief Sweet said the transition to Correctional Healthcare Partners (CHP) has resulted in
medical cost savings. Becky noted that it was understood from the start that opioid settlement funds
were not intended to be a long-term funding solution for jail healthcare.
Sheriff’s Office - The Sheriff’s Enforcement Team (SET) funding supports two patrol deputies and the
resources necessary for their operations. SET focuses on treatment, prevention, and enforcement
strategies. The team participates in community meetings addressing opioid and methamphetamine use,
conducts drug and firearm seizures, and removes drug-related paraphernalia from the streets. These
deputies collaborate with local agencies to apprehend individuals involved in drug activity, alleviating
some of the workload from patrol and detective divisions. Higher-level drug distribution cases are
handled by JNET and other regional agencies. Sheriff Snaza reported that approximately 45 local drug
dealers have been addressed, with a few remaining cases under investigation. SET currently includes
one canine officer and one deputy.
Becky said the reporting requirements are on OpenGov as part of the publication requirements.
Meeting ended at 11:15 a.m.