Nov 8, 2025 By Mike Jones 4 min read

Washington Drug and Alcohol Commission Executive Director Cheryl Andrews blasted Washington County officials over their handling of millions of dollars in opioid settlement money and questioned why the nonprofit she oversees and numerous other organizations helping people battle substance abuse have been shut out of funding.

“Despite being the lead agency coordinating the exact work for this funding, we have been consistently overlooked for funding, leaving many critical services completely unfunded,” Andrews told the county commissioners at the conclusion of their regular voting meeting Thursday afternoon.

Since September 2024, the commissioners have approved four rounds of grants totaling $4.7 million that comes from Washington County’s portion of the nationwide settlement with several drug manufacturers that are largely blamed for the opioid epidemic. The county is distributing about $800,000 annually over 18 years from its portion of the Pennsylvania Opioid Misuse and Addiction Abatement Trust settlement, with another round coming up early next year.

Andrews said the Drug and Alcohol Commission has applied for grants on two occasions to help with the “skyrocketing costs” of battling opioid substance abuse disorder, but was denied both times. After the second denial, Andrews said county Humans Services Director John Tamiggi emailed her telling her they should not apply again because the nonprofit already receives “too much” in taxpayer dollars and the county can’t see a return on investment.

“Saving human lives is a massive return on investment, and it is exactly what this money is intended for,” Andrews told the commissioners.

Washington Drug and Alcohol Commission has been in place since 2002 and holds a contract with the state to manage drug and alcohol services that include intervention initiatives, prevention, treatment and recovery programs.

Andrews said WDAC already operates on a “shoestring budget” and is severely underfunded as demand for services has increased over the past decade with the rise in opioid abuse. She questioned why the county’s Department of Human Services has regularly received grants through the opioid settlement program to hire workers performing the same duties as her nonprofit.

“Instead of helping to fund critical services that already exist, in recent funding decisions, the commissioners decided to hire new employees within the human services department to provide services that duplicate what WDAC already offers,” Andrews said.

Reached by telephone Friday afternoon, Tamiggi forwarded questions to Washington County spokeswoman Nicole Ford, who released a statement in which she said commission Chairman Nick Sherman spoke with Andrews after the meeting and “expressed his willingness” to meet with the nonprofit to discuss future applications.

“There is an independent board that reviews all applications, and Washington County is proud of the initiatives we’ve funded thus far using opioid settlement funds,” Ford said. “While not all proposals are funded each year, we encourage organizations to apply annually.”

The transparency of the program has been questioned in the past by Commissioner Larry Maggi, who openly wondered at previous meetings how the list of approved grants is decided behind the scenes before the commissioners vote to fund the different agencies. During Thursday’s meeting, Andrews also questioned the process and suggested more transparency is needed.

“Money is being given to entities without coordinating, which harms residents’ abilities to access the care that they need,” she said. “Overall, the result is these opioid settlement dollars are not being allocated in the best way to ensure the most positive outcomes for the residents affected by this crisis. The decisions made have actually harmed the existing services and partnerships that have a long-standing history of saving lives.”

Several people who have gone through the Drug and Alcohol Commission’s programs spoke about their own bouts with addiction and recovery, while also praising the nonprofit in helping them turn their lives around. All of them implored the commissioners to fund the WDAC, while also supporting meaningful care and services in the future.

Sherman said he appreciated hearing their comments at the meeting – which was standing-room-only with many there in support of the Drug and Alcohol Commission – but he could “feel the tension” in the room. However, Sherman instead focused more on the state budget impasse and how the lack of funding could affect the commission.

“I appreciate you all coming here and I appreciate that there are asks that you have for the opioid settlement funds, but the vast majority of your funding comes through the state,” Sherman said.