After months of anticipation, outside consulting agency Social Contract delivers its recommendations to the Prescription Opioid Settlement Distribution Commission (POSDC) on how it can better allocate grant funding.
The commission’s role is distributing settlement funds to organizations who can help mitigate the state’s opioid epidemic. POSDC has handed out just over $10 million of the close to $70 million awarded to the state.
Social Contract has been evaluating the POSDC since May, largely examining the effectiveness of the commission’s grant distribution process.
After Dover grant recipient Code Purple was flagged for fraudulent activity in June, questions specifically arose around if enough guardrails and transparency tactics are in place to prevent similar alleged misuse of funds.
The investigation has also put the distribution of further grant funding on an indefinite hold while the State Auditor's office audits 12 additional grant recipients.
Head of the review process, Senior Director Tina Alexander, presented a summary of nine recommendations for the commission, along with a three-phase implementation plan to bolster its grant selection and distribution procedures.
Social Contract is recommending Delaware conduct a statewide comprehensive needs assessment every two years with annual interim updates to better inform its fund distribution strategy.
"Current reliance on secondary data and limited public engagement has resulted in some gaps, including low survey participation and limited dialog during listening sessions. By coordinating these assessments through the Public Outreach and Community Input Committee, and prioritizing input from community voices, particularly those with lived experience, the commission can design a more informed and inclusive strategy," Alexander said.
Currently, the commission defines immediate funding priorities for each grant cycle based on assessments and feedback, but Alexander says POSDC should create a long-term plan and operational strategy based on the biannual needs assessment to better address evolving needs, align with other state initiatives and maximize resource impact.
Social Contract is also recommending the commission set more transparent and equitable grant criteria following the Code Purple investigation.
"Simplifying requirements has made funding more accessible, especially for community-based organizations, but it also opens the risk of unqualified organizations diverting resources. Aligning the commission's eligibility criteria with those of agencies like the Criminal Justice Council and [Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health], for example, and offering support through third-party managed mini grants can make sure standards are met while supporting promising new organizations" Alexander explained.
Additionally, Social Contract is recommending POSDC revamp its application and scoring process entirely.
“Currently, applications are reviewed by a staff member in the Attorney General's office and scored by the staff member. This scoring determines whether or not the application is brought to the commission for a vote. Forming a review committee of experts for a more structured, multiphase review process would allow applications to be assessed more thoroughly," Alexander said.
Other recommendations include expanding investments in technical assistance for community-based organizations to enhance their capacity to apply for funding, meet compliance requirements and enhance their overall impact, enhance financial controls and monitoring practices and create a public data dashboard with reports on funding decisions, disbursements, progress and outcomes achieved by funding initiatives.
The commission's current dashboard shows fund distribution but does not include details on fund usage and program impact.
To implement these recommendations, Social Contract presented a three-phase "roadmap" outlining specific timeline goals to ensure the commission can continue distributing grants.
The commission voted to adopt Phase 1 of the plan, which includes reviewing eligibility criteria and redesigning the grant application, scoring and selection process by the end of this calendar year.
Phase 2 includes conducting the needs assessment and developing a strategic plan from January to June 2025. Phase 3 includes the development of technical assistance programs and launching the public dashboard for the remainder of 2025.
Alexander did note there were some key challenges during their months-long review.
"While we requested all relevant documents from the staff early on in our contract, they were received sporadically, affecting our ability to conduct a thorough review with only partial applications and cover pages available for both grant cycles and no complete monitoring frameworks or reports were provided," she said. "Furthermore and finally, awardee interviews were limited to POSDC members and only one staff member, so that limited our incorporation of broader perspectives, as community members, external agencies and non-commission member grantees were not included," Alexander said.
POSDC did not specify when it would resume grant distribution, but it plans on holding special meetings before the end of the year to further discuss the recommendations and approve the 2022 and 2023 Annual Reports.
