Planned uses are nearly five times the prior actual
Kern’s Schedule 8 reports $2,360,324 in actual 2024–25 financing uses for the Opioid Settlement Funds. The adopted 2025–26 amount is $11,347,863.
The $8,987,539 increase equals 380.8%. Put another way, the adopted use level is 4.8 times the prior actual year.
| Entry | Amount | Change or share |
|---|---|---|
| FY 2024–25 actual uses | $2,360,324 | Baseline |
| FY 2025–26 adopted uses | $11,347,863 | +380.8% |
| Opening available balance | $11,771,202 | 61.1% of resources |
| Planned ending balance | $7,910,118 | 41.1% of resources |
The plan still leaves $7.91 million
Schedule 2 combines $11,771,202 in opening balance with $7,486,779 in new financing, producing $19,257,981 in resources. After the adopted uses, $7,910,118 remains.
Retaining settlement money can support multiyear programs and future claims. The figures nevertheless establish two simultaneous facts: Kern planned a sharp acceleration in uses and still carried more than two-fifths of resources forward.
Program recipients and outcomes are not in the schedule
The schedules do not identify prevention grants, treatment providers, naloxone purchases, recovery services or administrative costs. They also do not report people served or overdoses prevented.
Settlement compliance and effectiveness require the county’s detailed allocation plan, contracts and outcome reports; the budget alone cannot show whether every use meets settlement restrictions.
Method and limitation
The newsroom linked the fund’s Schedule 2 resources with Schedule 8 actual and adopted uses, verified the arithmetic and calculated the year-over-year change.
Adopted uses are not completed expenditures. The report makes no claim that the full $11.35 million has been awarded or spent.