On May 19, 2022, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) released the State Opioid Response (SOR) III Notice of Funding Opportunity. California has been tentatively allocated $107,038,177 per year for two years, for a total of $214,076,354 from September 30, 2022 through September 29, 2024. The California Department of Health Care Services’ (DHCS) application is due to SAMHSA on July 18, 2022. DHCS will use these funds to support and supplement the State’s Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) Expansion Project activities.
The funds were announced at an important time, as California and other states have seen an increase in overdoses and barriers to services due to COVID-19 and the proliferation of illicit fentanyl. More than 105,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2021, including 10,300 Californians.
DHCS will host a listening session to solicit feedback and inform California’s SOR III opioid, stimulant, and co-occurring prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery service activities.
To learn more about ongoing SOR grant projects, visit the California MAT website at https://californiaopioidresponse.org/. For specific questions related to the listening session, please email DHCSMATExpansion@dhcs.ca.gov.