This Aug. 29, 2018, photo shows an arrangement of prescription Oxycodone pills. A Southern California doctor pleaded guilty Friday, Oct. 7, 2022, to writing prescriptions for more than 120,000 opioid pills over a six-year span, including to an impaired driver who struck and killed a bicyclist, federal prosecutors said. Associated Press

Mark Lennihan

The county commissioners on Wednesday allocated a nearly $1 million payment from the state opioid settlement to substance abuse recovery programs, including the medication assisted treatment program at the prison.

The county’s initial payment of $977,379 received last year from the Pennsylvania Opioid Issues and Addiction Abatement Trust was allocated to three recovery categories, giving county leaders flexibility in how to use the money, said Leslie Osche, commission chairwoman.

Commissioners approved allocating $350,000 to address the recovery needs of people in the criminal justice system, including people in the county prison. The money will go to the medication assisted treatment program at the prison and other people in the justice system with substance abuse disorder.

The MAT program, which is mandated by the state, recently transitioned to the use of monthly Sublocade injections for inmates with substance abuse issues.