Missouri counties and cities may now apply for federal funding for local prescription drug monitoring efforts following sustained efforts from U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill. The Department of Justice released a grant announcement as part of legislation McCaskill helped shape, which allows counties, cities, and other regions to apply for prescription drug monitoring program funding to help combat the opioid epidemic.

“Access to this new source of funding will help Missouri counties get the necessary resources to set up monitoring programs to put an end to prescription shoppers,” said McCaskill, a former courtroom prosecutor. “These programs will save lives, and it’s time for leaders in Jefferson City to get serious about combating this opioid epidemic.”

Missouri is currently the only state in the country without a statewide prescription drug monitoring program, and legislation to create one has failed in the state legislature. Despite the lack of statewide action, cities and counties across the state are working in a coordinated manner to implement programs. Jackson County recently announced an agreement to join the St. Louis County monitoring program, which also includes St. Charles County. St. Louis City, Kansas City and Independence also joined these efforts and the City of Columbia recently announced that it is working to establish a prescription drug monitoring program.

The motion shaped by McCaskill that was successfully included in last year’s Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act enables Missouri’s network of county-level monitoring programs to be eligible to apply for federal resources. Without this provision, eligibility for this federal grant funding would have been limited to states.

The deadline for applications to be eligible to receive these funds is April 25, 2017. The full announcement can be found here.