Hillsborough County
Implementation Plans
FY 2024-2025 Plan
The Hillsborough County Health Care Advisory Board and its Behavioral Health Task Force have developed an implementation plan to address opioid use and substance abuse disorders in Hillsborough County, Florida. This plan, required annually by the Florida Department of Children and Families, outlines the allocation and utilization of opioid settlement funds in accordance with specific requirements. It details focus areas, funding amounts, and associated projects, with the plan subject to annual review and adjustment based on community needs and feedback. The plan follows a timeline beginning in February 2019, detailing the county’s mobilization and participation in opioid litigation discussions, leading to the approval of a Memorandum of Understanding in September 2021. This Memorandum of Understanding categorized settlement funds and outlined their acceptable uses.
By April 2023, the county organized a second Opioid Strategy Summit to prioritize community needs and explore best practices for addressing the opioid crisis. The plan also includes a competitive process for awarding funds, modeled after the Ryan White Program’s Request for Applications, with the first Request for Applications draft completed in December 2023 and finalized in April 2024. Funding allocations for the fiscal year 2025 total $26 million, with percentages designated for prevention, education, treatment, recovery, and courts. These allocations are based on community discussions and are subject to final approval by the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners. The plan also outlines a comprehensive Request for Applications process to solicit innovative and effective proposals from organizations dedicated to combating the opioid crisis, emphasizing the importance of community feedback and the need for strategic investment in various domains to address the crisis effectively. Monitoring and evaluation are integral to the plan, ensuring the effectiveness of funded programs through regular reports detailing progress, outcomes, and any necessary adjustments. The plan emphasizes the importance of adapting to community needs over time and leveraging settlement funds to make a significant impact on the opioid crisis in Hillsborough County. It also highlights the collaborative effort between Hillsborough County, the City of Tampa, Plant City, and Temple Terrace in administering the funds and the role of the Behavioral Health Task Force in identifying community needs. The implementation strategies cover a wide range of service domains and strategies, including education, prevention, treatment, and recovery, with specific priority strategies outlined for each domain. These strategies aim to address the opioid crisis comprehensively, from supporting non-opioid pain treatment alternatives and funding media campaigns to prevent misuse, to expanding treatment availability and supporting recovery services. The plan also includes additional strategies for addressing the needs of specific populations, such as pregnant or parenting women and individuals involved in the criminal justice system, emphasizing the importance of evidence-based or evidence-informed programs and strategies.