The Select Board unanimously agreed to establish a new town position to track, fund and create resources using opioid settlement funds at its Monday, Nov. 18 meeting.

The Substance Use Program Coordinator position was created by the Dartmouth Advocates for Addiction Recovery and Treatment task force after the organization worked for “over the good part of a year” to determine what Dartmouth needs, said Select Board member Heidi Silva Brooks.

The coordinator, which is a non-union position, will work to secure and ensure that the funding that comes through the opioid settlement fund is directed toward the programs that would benefit the Dartmouth community in education, prevention and recovery, Brooks said.

The position will focus in part on education and prevention with the goal of educating students who will in turn hopefully bring the messages they learn home to their families, she added.

Opioid settlement funds, which come from a 2022 statewide settlement with opioid distributors and manufacturers, will be used to fund the bulk of the position’s salary in the current fiscal year, Brooks said. Starting in the next fiscal year, it will be a 90-10 split between the settlement funds and the town.

Between 2022 and 2038, Dartmouth is expected to receive a total of more than $1.1 million in funds, according to the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office.

Over the next 10 years, the goal is to shift the position’s focus from opioids to general wellness, Brooks said.

The settlement funding will end after 2038, so the coordinator will also be looking at other grant opportunities to expand on the offerings and generate more funding sources to continue and “perpetuate” the work of the Dartmouth Advocates for Addiction Recovery and Treatment task force, Brooks said.