CITY of ALBUQUERQUE
TWENTY SEVENTH COUNCIL
COUNCIL BILL NO. R-26-69 ENACTMENT NO. ________________________
SPONSORED BY: Nichole Rogers, by request
RESOLUTION
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Appropriation Of Opioid Settlement Funds (Rogers, by request)
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WHEREAS, the City of Albuquerque has created the LG Abatement Fund 201 for the purpose of receipt, appropriation and expenditure of the opioid settlement proceeds; and
WHEREAS, City Council approved the Joint Opioid Settlement Implementation Plan through R-25-128 to govern the use of Opioid Settlement Funds; and
WHEREAS, the City of Albuquerque and Bernalillo County System Gap Analysis identified that individuals experiencing opioid-related impacts require immediate and often ongoing access to specialized services that address behavioral health needs outside of the crisis system; and
WHEREAS, according to the New Mexico Department of Health, Bernalillo County continues to experience the greatest number of drug overdose deaths of any county in New Mexico, demonstrating that opioid and other substance use disorders remain among the most significant public health challenges facing the City of Albuquerque and the surrounding region; and
WHEREAS, the New Mexico Department of Health reports that Bernalillo County’s drug overdose death rate remains above both the statewide and national averages, underscoring the continued need for sustained investments that expand timely access to treatment, recovery services, harm reduction, and overdose prevention; and
WHEREAS, the City has developed and is operating the Gateway System of Care, a coordinated continuum of behavioral health, medical, housing, and supportive services that includes the Gateway Young Adult Housing and Treatment Navigation Center, Gateway Medical Respite Center, Gateway Family Housing and Treatment Navigation Center, Gateway Men's Housing and Treatment Navigation Center, Gateway Women's Housing and Treatment Navigation Center, and associated stabilization, recovery, housing, and supportive service programs, which together provide overdose prevention, expand access to evidence-based treatment, increase successful connection to ongoing care, reduce emergency department utilization, reduce unnecessary incarceration, and improve long-term recovery outcomes through evidence-based treatment, harm reduction, care coordination, and navigation services; provided, however, that the Gateway System of Care has never included a dedicated, opioid-specific connection-to-treatment and assessment function embedded within and operating across these services; and
WHEREAS, evidence-based practices identified by the New Mexico Department of Health recognize that expanding care coordination, medication-assisted treatment, harm reduction services, and rapid connection to treatment are among the most effective strategies for reducing opioid-related deaths and improving long-term recovery outcomes, making continued investment in these services vital to sustaining and expanding progress in Albuquerque and Bernalillo County; and
WHEREAS, research demonstrates that treatment navigation, care coordination, and peer-supported linkage models are evidence-informed strategies that improve connection to substance use disorder treatment by reducing barriers, increasing engagement, and supporting continuity of care for individuals with opioid use disorder and related substance use disorders; and studies examining treatment linkage interventions have demonstrated that structured navigation approaches can increase initiation of medication for opioid use disorder and improve successful transitions from crisis settings into ongoing treatment and recovery services; and
WHEREAS, Opioid Settlement Funds will allow the City to launch a new, innovative Connection-to-Treatment and Assessment function within the Gateway System of Care - a service never before conducted at the Gateway Young Adult Housing and Treatment Navigation, Gateway Medical Respite, Gateway Family Housing and Treatment Navigation, and Gateway Men and Women Housing and Treatment Navigation programs - designed to identify, engage, assess, navigate, and provide warm handoffs for individuals with opioid use disorder and other related substance use disorders by connecting individuals to evidence-based treatment, medication for opioid use disorder, recovery supports, and ongoing care coordination consistent with the purposes of the Opioid Settlement Funds; and
WHEREAS, this Resolution appropriates Opioid Settlement Funds to the Department of Health, Housing and Homelessness for purposes detailed herein and in alignment with R-25-128; and
WHEREAS, this Resolution appropriates Opioid Settlement Funds to the Department of Health, Housing and Homelessness to fund this new connection-to-treatment and assessment function, as detailed herein and in alignment with R-25-128; and this appropriation does not supplant any funding already budgeted, encumbered, or under contract, and constitutes an investment in a service capacity that did not previously exist within the Gateway System of Care; and
WHEREAS, R-25-128 approved the Joint Opioid Settlement Plan recommendations from the Local Government Coordinating Council and was adopted by the City of Albuquerque to govern the use of opioid settlement funds which recommended as a funding category “Community-Based Treatment Access and Quality” which is inclusive of “care coordination, and provider capacity expansion”, and “expand medical assisted treatment access”; and
WHEREAS, Treatment Navigation is an expanded scope of care within the Gateway System of Care, and the contractual costs appropriated herein represent a new, first-time allocation of Opioid Settlement Funds-not a continuation of any prior year's appropriation-to establish and expand treatment navigation services and provider capacity within the Gateway System of Care for individuals with opioid use disorder and other substance use disorders, a capacity that did not previously exist and is not funded through the City's General Fund or any other pre-existing recurring revenue source; and this appropriation is not intended to be counted toward the recurring funding limitation set forth in Section 11 of the Opioid Settlement Implementation Plan; and
WHEREAS, R-25-128 approved the Joint Opioid Settlement Plan recommendations from the Local Government Coordinating Council and was adopted by the City of Albuquerque to govern the use of opioid settlement funds which recommended as a funding category “Leveraging the Sobering Center”; and
WHEREAS, R-25-128 approved the Joint Opioid Settlement Plan recommendations from the Local Government Coordinating Council and was adopted by the City of Albuquerque to govern the use of opioid settlement funds which recommended as a funding category “Recovery Housing”; and
WHEREAS, R-25-128 requires $1,500,000 to APS for the second year of the Albuquerque Public Schools Crossroads and other related prevention/intervention programming.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL, THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE:
SECTION 1. PROGRAMMING. The Departments of Finance and Administrative Services (DFAS) and Health, Housing and Homelessness (HHH) shall create one new program within Fund (201) as follows:
(A) Gateway System of Care, in support of the following scope of work “The Contractor shall establish and operate a specialized Treatment Navigation Program embedded within the Gateway System of Care to identify, engage, assess, motivate, and rapidly connect individuals experiencing opioid use disorder (OUD) and co-occurring disorders to evidence-based treatment, medication-assisted treatment (MAT), recovery support services, housing stabilization, and ongoing care”; and
(B) Utilize three existing programs within Fund 201 as follows:
(1) Medical Sobering Center, to support leveraging the Center for immediate assessment and connection to services for persons experiencing opioid use disorder (OUD) and co-occurring disorders in support of the following scope of work “100% of participants who screen positive for opioid use disorder will be referred to Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT)”.
(2) Recovery Housing, in support of “clinically managed low-intensity residential services consistent with the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) Level 3.1 Criteria while operating a recovery housing program that meets the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) definition of Recovery Housing. Services shall provide a safe, structured, recovery-oriented living environment that integrates abstinence-based housing with evidence-based clinical treatment, peer support, and connections to behavioral health, physical health, housing, employment, and other community-based recovery supports for individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) and co-occurring disorders.”
(3) APS Opioid Crossroads Program Year 2, as required by R-25-128, in support of “comprehensive, school-based substance use prevention and intervention services for data-identified APS middle, K-8, and magnet high school students within Albuquerque Public Schools (APS),” and the terms of the three-party IGA among the City of Albuquerque, Albuquerque Public Schools, and Bernalillo County.
SECTION 2. APPROPRIATION. Opioid Settlement Funds in the total amount of $5,200,000 are hereby appropriated from Fund (201) in Fiscal Year 2027 to the Department of Health, Housing, and Homelessness, as follows:
Gateway System of Care $2,000,000
Medical Sobering Center $1,400,000
Recovery Housing $300,000
APS Opioid Crossroads Program Year 2 $1,500,000
TOTAL $5,200,000
SECTION 3. SEVERABILITY CLAUSE. If any section, paragraph, sentence, clause, word or phrase of this Resolution is for any reason held to be invalid or unenforceable by any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions of this Resolution. The Council hereby declares that it would have passed this Resolution and each section, paragraph, sentence, clause, word or phrase thereof irrespective of any provision being declared unconstitutional or otherwise invalid.