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To authorize 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 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 First 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 First 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.
City of Richmond
Intracity Correspondence
DATE: Thursday, April 3, 2025
TO: The Honorable Members of City Council
THROUGH: The Honorable Danny Avula, Mayor
THROUGH: Sabrina Joy-Hogg, Interim Chief Administrative Officer
THROUGH: Sheila White, Director of Finance
THROUGH: Meghan Brown, Director of Budget and Strategic Planning
THROUGH: Shunda Giles, Interim DCAO for Human Services
FROM: J.D. Ratliff, Policy Advisor
RE: To authorize the Chief Administrative Officer to execute a First Amendment to the Opioid Funds Agreement between the City of Richmond and the Sheriff of the City of Richmond, for the purpose of supporting the ongoing implementation of a 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 First Amendment to the Opioid Funds Agreement between the City of Richmond and the Sheriff of the City of Richmond, for the purpose of supporting the ongoing implementation of a Medication Assisted Treatment Pilot Program.
BACKGROUND: Ordinance 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.
Ordinance 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 Medication Assisted Treatment Pilot Program. The appropriation for the Medication Assisted Treatment 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 pilot MAT Program provides MOUD to those incarcerated at the RCJC and have been transferred in with a valid prescription for MOUD from a community provider.
This funding included medications for opioid use disorder (“OUD”) and provided 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 OUD education programming, and OUD-specific discharge planning. The MAT Pilot Program is monitored and evaluated by the Opioid Response Coordinator in Neighborhood and Community Services in conjunction with RCJC program staff.
This ordinance authorizes a first 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. The Opioid Funds Agreement must be adopted prior to the expiration of the agreement on June 30, 2025.
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 medication for OUD 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: May 27, 2025
CITY COUNCIL PUBLIC HEARING DATE: June 23, 2025
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.
ATTACHMENTS: First Amendment to Opioid Funds Agreement Ordinance Language, First Amendment to Opioid Funds Agreement, Ord. No. 2024-298
STAFF: Jason Alley, Policy Advisor for Opioid Response, 804-401-5863, Jason.Alley@rva.gov <mailto:Jason.Alley@rva.gov>
J.D. Ratliff, Policy Advisor, 804-646-6056, James.Ratliff@rva.gov <mailto:James.Ratliff@rva.gov>