Garcia Wilburn celebrates opioid settlement win, calls for investment in recovery courts
Indiana will receive up to $100 million in new opioid settlement funds following action by 55 attorneys general, including Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, to secure a $7.4 billion settlement from the Sackler family and Purdue Pharma for their role in America's opioid epidemic. This money will be disbursed over the next 15 years to state and local governments to combat the effects of the opioid crisis, according to a press release from Attorney General Rokita.
State Rep. Victoria Garcia Wilburn (D-Fishers), a behavioral health professional and recovery advocate, renewed her call for Indiana to establish a Family Recovery Court Fund, which could be funded by opioid settlement dollars. Family recovery courts are certified problem-solving courts that target cases of abuse or neglect wherein a parent or primary caregiver suffers from a substance use disorder or co-occurring disorders, but they struggle to receive consistent funding and have often relied on counties prioritizing them in their budgets. This legislative session, Garcia Wilburn passed House Bill 1107 unanimously out of the House Judiciary Committee to create such a fund, but it subsequently stalled out in the House Ways and Means Committee – meaning that it did not become law this year.
Garcia Wilburn released the following statement on the new settlement dollars and how they could be put to good use in recovery courts:
"First, I'm thankful that Indiana will receive $100 million in new opioid settlement dollars, and I thank Attorney General Rokita and his fellow attorneys general across the country for their work to secure this outcome. These dollars can be put to use in our communities for addiction recovery, prevention and solutions, including recovery courts.
"Family recovery courts reduce the cost of addiction to the taxpayers by solving addiction outside of our courts and prison systems. They're a great investment that have resulted in many success stories across our state of babies born substance free and families made whole again. The 2026 legislative session is the time to take action and create a family recovery court fund. This will allow courts across the state to fund family recovery courts sustainably into the future. Amid a state budget shortfall and this new infusion of settlement funds, setting up this recovery court fund won't take money out of our state budget but will help Hoosiers reach recovery with existing dedicated funds. That's a win in my book – and one that's entirely achievable during the 2026 legislative session."