May 9, 2023 - Meeting Minutes

Illinois Opioid Remediation Advisory Board

Access & Equity Working Group Meeting

May 9, 2023

Virtual Meeting Held Via Zoom

Meeting Minutes

Access and Equity Working Group Members

Welcome and Roll Call

Joel Johnson welcomed the group and called the meeting to order. Sue Pickett, PhD of Advocates for Human Potential, Inc. (AHP), facilitator, conducted roll call. All members were present except for Ty Bechel, David Gomel, Shane Pettigrew, Allison Arwady, Wyvetta Grainger, Stacey Stottler, Don Otis, Jonnell Benson-Cobbs, Michelle Saddler, James Grafton, Jennifer Lehman, Diana Bottari, Blanca Campos, Mark Mulroe, and Melissa Hernandez. Quorum was not established.

Review of April 11, 2023 Meeting Minutes

The group agreed to vote by consensus to approve the April 11, 2023 meeting minutes. Ms. Richardson made a motion to approve the meeting minutes. Dr. Devitt seconded the motion. All working group members in attendance voted in favor of the motion. The motion passed.

IORAB April 19, 2023 Meeting Updates

* The IORAB met on April 19th. Mr. Johnson stated that he discussed the group's recommendation related to the Community Outreach and Recovery Support (CORS) model pilot funding at the meeting. No new recommendations were presented to the IORAB. It is anticipated that new recommendations will be presented, discussed and voted up at the July 13th IORAB meeting.

Recommendation Submission Form and Review Process

• Sherrine Peyton, Statewide Opioid Settlement Administrator (SOSA) shared the Opioid Settlement Funding (OSF) Core Abatement Strategy Recommendation Submission Form. Going forward, the form must be completed and submitted when proposing recommendations. The form will be posted on the IORAB website (IDHS: Illinois Opioid Remediation Advisory Board (state.il.us)).
  • The form includes links to websites and documents that should be reviewed prior to completing the form: IDHS: Illinois Opioid Remediation Advisory Board (state.il.us); Illinois-Opioid-Allocation-Agreement-Fully-Executed.pdf (nationalopioidsettlement.com); State of Illinois Opioid Action Plan 2022; Executive Order 2020-02.pdf; Executive order 2022-19.
  • The core abatement strategy being proposed, and the State of Illinois Overdose Action Plan (SOAP) priority category must be selected. If there is a disparity related to the priority, this should be noted. If data are available to demonstrate need, this should be included.
  • Once completed, the form should be submitted to Ms. Peyton at sherrine.peyton@illinois.gov with the subject line Core Abatement Strategy (CAS) Recommendation.
  • Following submission, Ms. Peyton will acknowledge receipt of the form. Ms. Peyton will gather more information to support the recommendation for IORAB review.

Priority Recommendations for the IORAB

• The group discussed recommendations and the review process.
  • Recommendations presented to the IORAB may include multiple strategies, proposed by different groups, that are related to one core abatement strategy. For example, multiple strategies related to medication-assisted recovery (MAR) could be considered together.
  • Innovative workforce development strategies are crosscutting needs. Ms. Peyton will advocate for NOFOs to require workforce development strategies. Each response to a NOFO will include workforce development strategies specific to their region's needs.
  • Illinois Department of Human Services/Division of Substance Use Prevention and Recovery (IDHS/SUPR) is working on a plan to allow the use of OSF funding for capital, such as telemedicine equipment and mobile units, through the Illinois system.
  • A working group member recommended that the form include a timeframe in which recommendations should be submitted to be considered at the next IORAB meeting. Ms. Peyton said she could develop a tentative timeline. Her intern is compiling research, toolkits, metrics, and data for each of the core strategies, which will ultimately reduce the time needed to prepare proposed recommendations for the IORAB
  • A working group member noted that organizations have differing abilities to respond to NOFOs and asked about the award funding process. The process will occur through an intermediary and is still being developed. Ms. Peyton stated that entities that serve their communities well and have opportunities to build their capacity should be prioritized
  • Mr. Johnson asked how much funding was currently available. The Attorney General will present at the July IORAB meeting and can provide more details. There is currently close to $88 million in the trust (this is the 55% that the IORAB must allocate to strategies). A total of $16.25 million has been allocated for approved recommendations.
  • The group discussed the issue of pharmaceutical groups that had a role in the opioid crisis possibly receiving settlement funding. Ideas to address this included limiting profits to pharmaceutical companies, requiring pharmaceutical companies to provide a certain amount of free medication for MAR, and the potential for families of individuals who died from overdoses to speak on this issue.
• Ms. Ayala announced her retirement from the DuPage County Health Department. Her last day is June 30.

Public Participation

There were no members of the public in attendance.

Adjourn

Ms. Ayala made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Mr. Tyson seconded the motion. All working group members present voted in favor of the motion. The motion passed. The next Access & Equity Working Group meeting will be held via Zoom on June 13, 2023, from 10:30am-12:00pm.