Jill Schramm/MDN Jennifer Perdue, MARCO executive director, speaks to the Ward County Commission about a federal grant opportunity as Holly Brekhus, executive director for First District Health Unit, listens at right.

Ward County’s effort to address opioid substance use disorder could get a boost from a federal grant.

Jennifer Perdue, executive director for Minot Area Recovery Community Organization, presented the grant opportunity Tuesday to the Ward County Commission. Commissioners voted to have Perdue begin the application process.

Perdue was named a fellow with the Reaching Rural Initiative, which brings together rural professionals from around the country to support them in advancing solutions to the challenges of substance use in their communities, according to Reaching Rural. Reaching Rural is co-sponsored by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the State Justice Institute.

The fellowship comes with a $100,000 federal grant. Perdue’s intent is for the grant to go to Ward County to support drug treatment at the jail.

“I have been having a lot of conversations with both peers who have been through the justice system here as well as different agencies that are impacted by people with substance use disorders involved in the justice system,” Perdue said. “I’m thinking, after having some conversations, that the best use of that money might be to help pay for medications for opioid use disorder. I know that the Opioid Task Force has been working on that a bit, but if we can bring some extra funds to make it a little bit more impactful, have a little bit extra money, I don’t think that is ever a bad thing.”

She added a successful program using the money could open the door to apply for a $1 million grant, distributed over three years.

Perdue will work with the coalition of entities on Ward County’s Opioid Task Force to prepare a grant application that details use of the $100,000. The application would come to the county commission for approval before submission.

The task force, created to utilize opioid lawsuit settlement dollars, already is working on a plan for addressing substance use disorder among people admitted to the jail. The additional grant funds would supplement that plan.

The task force has previously reported its intent is to start a Medication for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) plan. According to the June 20 edition of The Minot Daily News, the U.S. Department of Justice requires inmates receiving any type of treatment for opioid use disorder have that treatment continued after incarceration, and the Ward County Jail is in compliance through a local service agency. The proposed MOUD would extend medication services to other inmates for whom the treatment is appropriate and connect inmates with community services once released.

“The opioid settlement money we knew from day one is not enough to sustain this kind of program,” Commissioner Shelly Weppler said. “This is getting that light brighter for us to find other resources.”

She estimated the county currently has received about $94,000. Settlement funds are expected to be paid out over 18 years. The City of Minot also is participating on the task force with its settlement funds.

Holly Brekhus, executive director for First District Health Unit, said various entities will need to write letters of support for the Reaching Rural Implementation Grant, but her agency as well as the North Central Human Service Center, already are on board.