TOPEKA – (June 17, 2024) – The Kansas Fights Addiction (KFA) Grant Review Board has approved a third round of funding – with a total of $6 million available – to support substance use disorder (SUD) services across the state, Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach has announced.
Eligible organizations serving Kansans can now apply for this funding, which comes from money recovered by the state of Kansas through opioid legal settlements, through a Request for Proposal (RFP) grant application process. The third RFP is similar to the first round of funding in 2023, with the KFA board prioritizing strategies related to treatment, recovery, harm reduction, and linkages to care. These priorities were established by the Kansas Prescription Drug and Opioid Advisory Committee in its 2023-2027 state strategic plan.
Eligibility is limited to state agencies, local and county governments and nonprofit organizations that provide services in Kansas for the purpose of preventing, reducing, treating, or otherwise abating or remediating substance use disorders. To be eligible, applicants also must release all legal claims arising from covered conduct against each defendant named in the opioid settlement agreements.
Eligible organizations may apply for up to $300,000 in grant funding through this third RFP, with each grant having a 12-month budget period.
The Kansas Fights Addiction Act was enacted in 2021 by the Kansas Legislature and authorized the creation of the KFA board. Sunflower Foundation, a statewide health philanthropy based in Topeka, serves as the administrator for the KFA grant program.
In the fall of 2023, the KFA board awarded more than $10 million in support of 59 projects across the state aimed at providing SUD services across Kansas. Meanwhile, in December 2023, Sunflower Foundation and the University of Kansas Center for Public Partnerships and Research (CPPR) began to conduct a year-long, comprehensive statewide needs assessment of SUD systems and related work in Kansas that will be used to guide the future, long-term investment strategies of the KFA board. To get involved or stay up to date with the needs assessment, visit United to Transform.
The goal of the first two rounds of funding in 2023, as well as this third RFP and a fourth planned to be released in August, was to infuse funding into communities battling the opioid epidemic while the statewide needs assessment was being completed. Work on the needs assessment continues.
Organizations interested in the third round of KFA funding must submit a confirmation of intent to apply by 5 p.m. July 12. The deadline to apply is 5 p.m. Aug. 2. A link to a full copy of the third RFP, as well as additional information on deadlines and submissions, the grant application and review process, eligible organizations, and allowable strategies can be found on Sunflower Foundation’s KFA webpage.
Interested organizations are encouraged to register for an informational webinar related to the third RFP. The webinar is scheduled for 1 to 2 p.m. June 26.
The RFP process for a fourth round of KFA funding, which will prioritize strategies related to prevention, providers and health systems, and public safety and first responders, is anticipated to open Aug. 5.
Kansas has reached multiple settlements with major pharmaceutical companies, distributors and related firms as part of the state’s ongoing efforts to bring accountability to those that fueled the opioid-addiction crisis and provide funds to support addiction services. The settlements will result in Kansas receiving more than $340 million estimated to occur through 2038.
Additional information about the KFA board and the opioid settlements is available at ag.ks.gov/about-the-office/affiliated-orgs/kansas-fights-addiction-act-grant-review-board.
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