Dashboard lets NC residents track $1.2B in funds to fight opioid crisis across state
By Brittany Whitehead
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ASHEVILLE, North Carolina (WLOS) — North Carolinians can now view in real time how local governments of the state’s 100 counties plan to spend the $1.2 billion coming to both counties and municipalities to fight the opioid overdose crisis.
Attorney General Josh Stein announced earlier this month that the online dashboard, called Community Opioid Resources Engine for North Carolina (CORE-NC), contains preliminary data on how counties and municipalities plan to strategically use their share of the opioid settlement funds.
As those strategies come more into focus for local governments, people will be able to view planned strategies. As of Aug. 20, the dashboard includes data submitted to CORE-NC before July 1, 2023. It will be updated periodically.
CORE-NC includes resources, payment schedules and county-specific data to help guide local spending and guidance on strategies that work. The database will also serve as an information clearinghouse for reports on the use and impact of opioid settlement funds for the duration of the 18-year settlement.
“North Carolina is setting the standard for transparency and accountability when it comes to spending these opioid settlement funds,” said Attorney General Josh Stein. “This new webpage is another step forward in making sure North Carolinians know how their counties and municipalities are investing these funds in their communities to save lives.”
CORE-NC was created in partnership with the UNC Injury Prevention Research Center, the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.
Steins’ office said North Carolina recently received an award for excellence from a public health coalition led by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health for devoting almost all of these settlement funds to addressing the opioid epidemic and for creating CORE-NC to share information and promote evidence-based solutions.
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