U.S. Senator Bob Menendez, a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee that sets national health policy, today announced that the State of New Jersey has been awarded $21.5 million in federal funding from the Department of Health and Human Services to help bolster the state’s comprehensive efforts to tackle the opioid epidemic.

“Opioid addiction does not discriminate, devastating lives and families and communities across our state, impacting our friends, neighbors and loved ones,” said Sen. Menendez. “This flexible funding is critical in supporting New Jersey’s efforts to tackling this crisis with family-focused treatment and recovery strategies, and new ways to keep individuals from falling victim to the opioid epidemic in the first place.”

Specifically, New Jersey was awarded a $21,566,035 State Opioid Response Grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The grants are designed to provide states flexible funding to support prevention, treatment, and recovery services in the ways that meet the needs of their state, with a focus on providing evidence-based treatment, including medication-assisted treatment.