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To authorize the Chief Administrative Officer, for and on behalf of the City of Richmond, to execute a Second Amendment to Opioid Funds Agreement between the City of Richmond and the City Sheriff for the purpose of continuing the Medication Assisted Treatment Pilot Program.
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THE CITY OF RICHMOND HEREBY ORDAINS:
§ 1. That the Chief Administrative Officer, for and on behalf of the City of Richmond, be and is hereby authorized to execute a Second Amendment to Opioid Funds Agreement between the City of Richmond and the City Sheriff for the purpose of continuing the Medication Assisted Treatment Pilot Program. The Second Amendment to Opioid Funds Agreement shall be approved as to form by the City Attorney and shall be substantially in the form of the document attached to this ordinance.
§ 2. This ordinance shall be in force and effect upon adoption.
DATE: May 19, 2026
TO: The Honorable Members of City Council
THROUGH: The Honorable Danny Avula, Mayor
THROUGH: Odie Donald II, Chief Administrative Officer
THROUGH: Letitia Shelton, Director of Finance
THROUGH: Meghan Brown, Director of Budget and Strategic Planning
THROUGH: Amy Popovich, DCAO for Human Services
FROM: Jason Alley, Policy Advisor
RE: To authorize the Chief Administrative Officer to execute a Second Amendment to
Opioid Funds Agreement between the City of Richmond and the City Sheriff for the purpose of continuing the Medication Assisted Treatment Pilot Program.
ORD. OR RES. No. ____________________________________
PURPOSE: To authorize the Chief Administrative Officer, for and on behalf of the City of
Richmond, to execute a Second Amendment to Opioid Funds Agreement between the City of
Richmond and the City Sheriff for the purpose of continuing the Medication Assisted Treatment Pilot Program (“MAT Pilot Program”).
BACKGROUND: Ord. No. 2023-293 authorized the City of Richmond to accept and appropriate $1,259,411.69 of opioid settlement funds to a new National Opioid Settlement Special Fund for the purposes of funding new investments in identified priority areas including: peer recovery specialist, housing and housing support, addressing gaps in coordination and linkages to treatment, services, and other supports, and harm reduction strategies.
Ord. No. 2024-297 authorized the Opioid Funds Agreement between the Sheriff’s Office
and the City of Richmond to provide funding from the National Opioid Settlement to operate a
MAT Pilot Program. The appropriation for the MAT Pilot Program is conditioned upon the Sheriff’s compliance with the terms of the Opioid Funds Agreement between the City of Richmond and the Sheriff. A medication assisted treatment program is the use of medications for opioid use disorder (“MOUD”), alongside counseling and behavioral therapies, to treat opioid use disorder, and is considered the gold standard in treatment of opioid use disorder. This MAT Pilot Program provides MOUD to those incarcerated at the RCJC and have been transferred in with a valid prescription for MOUD from a community provider.
Ordinance No. 2025-124 authorized the Chief Administrative Officer, for and on behalf of the City of Richmond, to execute a First Amendment to Opioid Funds Agreement between the City of Richmond and the City Sheriff for the purpose of continuing the MAT Pilot Program
Now the parties wish to execute a second amendment to the Opioid Funds Agreement to provide for additional funding. This funding includes MOUD and provides for the Sheriff to hire an additional registered nurse who will oversee the MAT Pilot Program, including but not limited to, intake screening and assessment for substance use disorders (“SUD”), coordination with outside providers for inmates incarcerated at RCJC who have a valid prescription for MOUD, SUD and MOUD education programming, and MOUD-specific discharge planning. The MAT Pilot Program is monitored and evaluated by the Opioid Response Strategist in Neighborhood and Community Services in conjunction with RCJC program staff.
Additionally, this second amendment directs Richmond City Sheriff’s Office to track and report semiannually the number of individuals entering the Richmond Justice Center through the intake process who are not served by the MAT Program, but who self-identify or are otherwise identified as persons who use drugs or persons with a SUD. Richmond City Sheriff’s Office shall ensure that individuals identified through the intake process as persons who use drugs or substance use disorders are offered and furnished naloxone upon release from the Richmond Justice Center, subject to availability and applicable laws, policies, and procedures.
This ordinance authorizes a second amendment to the Opioid Funds Agreement between the Sheriff and the City of Richmond governing the use of the funds by the Sheriff’s Office to run the MAT Pilot. The ordinance extends the length of the agreement by an additional year, increases the appropriation amount to $1,000,000 over the life of the contract, and provide funds for the Sheriff’s Office to hire a second Registered Nurse who will support the MAT Pilot Program.
The risk of fatal overdose for formerly incarcerated people is significantly heightened, with studies reporting that individuals who have been recently released from incarceration are up to forty times more likely to die of an opioid overdose within the first two weeks of release. This percentage substantially decreases if the individual can remain on their prescribed MOUD throughout their incarceration and beyond release.
MAT programs for incarcerated individuals are widely accepted as an evidenced based practice
and is encouraged by, but not limited to the American Society of Addiction Medicine, the
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the National Sheriff’s Association,
the American Correctional Association, the American Medical Association, and the United
States Department of Justice.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: This proposal was informed by significant stakeholder engagement and developed with direct input and support from external agencies and subject matter experts on the Richmond Opioid Task Force.
STRATEGIC INITIATIVES AND OTHER GOVERNMENTAL: RES. 2022-R013 declaring opioid drug overdose deaths as a public health crisis in the City of Richmond; Richmond Opioid Task Force.
FISCAL IMPACT: There is no fiscal impact. There is no city match requirement.
DESIRED EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon adoption
REQUESTED INTRODUCTION DATE: July 27, 2026
CITY COUNCIL PUBLIC HEARING DATE: September 14, 2026
REQUESTED AGENDA: Consent agenda
RECOMMENDED COUNCIL COMMITTEE: Education and Human Services
AFFECTED AGENCIES: Budget and Strategic Planning, Finance, Neighborhood and Community Services, Sheriff’s Office
RELATIONSHIP TO EXISTING ORD. OR RES.: Res. No. 2018-R094; Ord. No. 2021-234; Res. No. 2021-R078; Resolution 2022-R013; Res. No. 2023-R010; Ord. No. 2023-293; Ord. No. 2024-099; Ord. No. 2024-297; Ord. No. 2024-298. Ord. No. 2025-124; Ord. No. 2026-141
ATTACHMENTS: Second Amendment to Opioid Funds Agreement, Ord. 2024-297 legislative package
STAFF: Jason Alley, Policy Advisor for Opioid Response, 804-401-5863, Jason.Alley@rva.gov
Anna Jones, Opioid Response Strategist, 804-987-9160, anna.jones@rva.gov