New York, July 28, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts (FORE) today announced three grants totaling nearly $1.55 million to strengthen policies addressing opioid use disorder and overdose, protect access to treatment, and support in-depth reporting that deepens public understanding of the crisis.

The two-year grants will support the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP), the Legal Action Center, and Tradeoffs, a nonprofit health policy news organization. Together, the projects reflect FORE’s continued investment in critical policy issues, particularly at the state level, at a time when state leaders are navigating changing federal policies, tighter budgets, and responsibilities for administering opioid settlement funds.

The grants will also support efforts to preserve Medicaid coverage for people with opioid and other substance use disorders and provide policymakers, health care professionals, and the public with clear, independent reporting on promising approaches to prevention, treatment and recovery.

“States are increasingly responsible for making the policy and funding decisions that determine whether people can obtain effective treatment and recovery support,” said Karen A. Scott, MD, MPH, President of FORE. “These grants will help state leaders respond to a rapidly changing environment, protect access to lifesaving care, and ensure that policymakers and the public have reliable information about solutions that can make a meaningful difference. Continued progress against the opioid and overdose crisis will depend not only on identifying what works, but also on translating that evidence into sound policy and making it understandable and accessible to a broad audience.”

The grants include:

National Academy for State Health Policy

$799,790 over two years

NASHP will help state leaders develop and sustain systems of care for opioid and other substance use disorders as they contend with changing federal policies, reduced funding, and tightening state budgets.

The organization will develop a state blueprint for sustaining substance use disorder services and lead a 12-month learning collaborative in which as many as five state teams will apply and test its strategies. NASHP will also continue bringing state officials together to share effective approaches, coordinate across agencies, and make strategic use of opioid settlement funds and other available resources.

The project builds on six years of FORE-supported work through which NASHP has become a trusted, nonpartisan resource for state policymakers. Its activities will include continued operation of a network of more than 130 opioid settlement officials representing 45 states and the District of Columbia; educational programming for new and incoming state officials; cross-agency policy discussions; and continued maintenance of a national tracker documenting how states are distributing opioid settlement funds. 

Legal Action Center

$525,000 over two years

The Legal Action Center will work to minimize Medicaid coverage losses among people with opioid and other substance use disorders as states implement new federal work reporting requirements.

Medicaid is the nation’s largest payer of opioid use disorder treatment, and losing coverage can interrupt access to medications, counseling, and other critical services. The Legal Action Center will help states design implementation policies that make appropriate use of available exemptions and will prepare health care, reentry, and community-based service providers to assist eligible individuals in obtaining or retaining coverage.

The organization will develop practical toolkits and state-specific resources, provide training and technical assistance to at least 1,500 individuals and organizations, and issue recommendations to state and federal policymakers. It will also conduct a public education and communications campaign featuring the experiences of people who depend on Medicaid for treatment and recovery services. The grant builds on FORE’s ongoing support for the Legal Action Center’s work to protect Medicaid access for people with substance use disorders.

Tradeoffs

$220,002 over two years

Tradeoffs will produce six podcast stories, accompanying written journalism and two live virtual events examining urgent and actionable solutions to the opioid and overdose crisis.

Through independent, evidence-based reporting, Tradeoffs will translate complex research and health policy questions into clear and compelling stories for policymakers, health care professionals and the public. The reporting will use data and personal narratives to explore the effects of policy decisions, highlight promising approaches, and examine issues such as opioid settlement spending, emerging treatment options, and changes in the nation’s drug supply.

The project expands FORE’s investment in public education while maintaining a strong health policy focus. It builds on an earlier FORE grant that supported Tradeoffs reporting on overdose prevention and care for older adults with opioid addiction. The new work will help broaden the national conversation beyond the scale of the crisis to include practical evidence about what is working and what could be improved. Tradeoffs will retain full editorial independence over its reporting. 

“These organizations bring different but complementary strengths to the work,” said Ken Shatzkes, PhD, FORE’s Program Director. “NASHP will help states build stronger and more sustainable systems, the Legal Action Center will focus on protecting treatment access for people at risk of losing coverage, and Tradeoffs will help ensure that important policy evidence reaches decision-makers and the public. Each is essential to turning knowledge into action.”

About the Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts

Founded in 2018, FORE is a national 501(c)(3) grantmaking foundation dedicated to addressing the nation’s opioid crisis. Through strategic grantmaking, stakeholder convenings, and informational resources, FORE supports patient-centered, innovative solutions that drive long-term change. To date, FORE has awarded 159 grants totaling $58.3 million to 131 organizations nationwide. FORE is a nationally certified Recovery Friendly Workplace. Follow FORE on LinkedIn and Instagram for updates.


Myrna Manners
Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts 
718-986-7255
mmanners@mannerspr.com

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