In December, the Legislature accepted $1.185 million in new opioid settlement funds - renewing concerns about the Blakeman administration’s failure to deliver the nearly $100 million in settlement funds it has already received to agencies on the front lines of responding to the opioid crisis. Those new funds will be placed into a dedicated fund for agencies that provide addiction prevention, treatment, and recovery resources across Nassau County. However, a Newsday investigation revealed the Blakeman administration has distributed just $3.01 million – or 3.15 percent of approximately $95.5 million it had received – despite a four-year plan released in May 2023 that pledged $60 million to agencies over that time. 

“The Blakeman administration’s persistent failure to effectively distribute these crucial settlement funds is unacceptable,” Minority Leader DeRiggi-Whitton said. “While I am gratified that the County is receiving this new influx of resources, we must use this as a catalyst for finally getting these funds out of the County’s bank accounts and where they belong – in the hands of trusted agencies that are doing the work to save lives from this scourge.” 

Shortly before that Dec. 16 vote to accept the latest settlements, the Legislature heard directly from Corinne Kaufman, whose granddaughter, Paige Gibbons, died on Nov. 20, 2022 – just four days after her 19th birthday – after she consumed a small piece of what she thought was a Percocet pill at a sleepover with friends. It turned out to be entirely fentanyl. In the aftermath of Paige’s tragic death, Kaufman has become a fierce advocate in the fight against fentanyl.

“It is discouraging not to see settlement funds used for strong, proactive programs yet,” Kaufman said. “We are seeing the slow drip of settlement funds when you really need those funds to be working to prevent these disasters. You all hold such great power in your hands to save lives by expediting these funds. It’s time to save lives now.”