Grant funding is available to help first responders in Kansas in dealing with opioid abuse.

According to the Kansas Governor’s Office, $3.2 million in grants that will be used to assist rural first responders combatting opioid abuse. The grants will fund training regarding carrying and administering approved medication for emergency reversal of opioid overdose.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) First Responder-Comprehensive Addiction & Recovery Act (FR-CARA) grants, administered by the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS), are open for application by rural first responder agencies and members of other key community sectors at the state, tribal, and local levels.

KDADS has selected four rural regions of the state that encompass 53 counties for implementing this project based on the Kansas Board of Emergency Medical Services map.  These regions include:

• Region I – Northwest: Cheyenne, Rawlins, Decatur, Norton, Phillips, Sherman, Thomas, Sheridan, Graham, Rooks, Wallace, Logan, Gove, Trego, Ellis, Russell, Ness, and Rush
• Region II – Southwest: Greeley, Wichita, Scott, Lane, Hamilton, Kearney, Finney, Hodgeman, Gray, Ford, Stanton, Grant, Haskell, Meade, Clark, Morton, Stevens, and Seward
• Region III – North Central: Smith, Jewell, Republic, Osborne, Mitchell, Cloud, Clay, Ottawa, Lincoln, Dickinson, Saline, and Ellsworth
• Region IV – Southeast: Greenwood, Woodson, Allen, Bourbon, Elk, Wilson, Neosho, Crawford, Chautauqua, Montgomery, Labette, and Cherokee

First responder agencies can find additional information, including application forms and submission instructions, for the grant funding here.

Applications are due to KDADS by September 15, 2022.