About North Dakota SOR

North Dakota utilizes State Opioid Response (SOR) grant funds to respond to needs and challenges related to opioid use disorders, opioid overdose deaths, and stimulant use disorders. Using a comprehensive, multi-pronged approach, North Dakota is ensuring that SOR funds support state and local initiatives across the continuum of care:

Prevention

Harm Reduction

Treatment

Recovery

North Dakota Health and Human Services (HHS) has been awarded $4 million annually for the next three years through the State Opioid Response (SOR) grant, administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The funding will support opioid use disorder treatment and overdose prevention across the state through Sept. 29, 2027.

Since 2017, the Behavioral Health Division has utilized federal opioid funding to implement similar initiatives, ensuring ongoing support for critical opioid-related services in North Dakota communities. HHS will administer this recently awarded SOR grant through continued key partnerships and initiatives aimed at prevention, harm reduction, treatment and recovery including:

  • Local public health units: Twenty-seven of North Dakota’s local public health units will implement a range of opioid response activities across the continuum of care.

  • Tribal partnerships: Three of North Dakota’s federally recognized tribes will implement similar activities to address opioid use disorder and improve community outcomes.

  • North Dakota State University School of Pharmacy: Through the Opioid and Naloxone Education (ONE) Program, pharmacies across the state will implement opioid risk screenings. In addition, North Dakota colleges will offer opioid overdose prevention and naloxone education for students.

  • North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (DOCR): Individuals incarcerated in state prisons will receive treatment for opioid use disorder, as well as connections to community resources to support recovery and successful reentry after release.