Boyd County Jailer Bill Hensley can see progress with inmates facing opioid use disorder, and a long-term injectable medication is playing a role in that.
He shared his story Tuesday with members of the Interim Joint Committee on Local Government in Frankfort.
Hensley and Joyce Johnson, clinical director of Outpatient Services for discussed Boyd County’s use of long-acting injectable buprenorphine, a medication used to treat opioid use disorder. Stepworks is an addiction recovery service focused on individualized treatment with several locations throughout Kentucky.
Hensley told the committee that the county has incorporated medication-assisted treatment to improve recovery outcomes, reduce recidivism and ease operational demands on jail staff with the overall goal to better prepare inmates for successful outcomes once they are released from jail.
In addition to treatment services, the jail offers educational and workforce programs, including opportunities for inmates to earn a GED and participate in other programming while incarcerated.
Long-acting injectable treatment
Boyd County has incorporated a long-acting injectable form of buprenorphine that is administered once per month rather than through daily oral medication. According to Hensley, 19 inmates currently participate in the treatment program.
Hensley said the injectable medication has helped reduce concerns about medication diversion within the jail while also significantly reducing the staff time required to administer treatment.
Under an oral medication model, jail staff must individually supervise inmates receiving medication and monitor them afterward to prevent diversion. Hensley said the process can take 45 minutes per inmate and requires significant staff resources.
The monthly injection reduces the need for daily medication protocols.
“It’s been an overall win,” Hensley said.
Recovery and reentry support
Stepworks provides peer support services to individuals participating in the program following their release from jail.
Peer support specialists conduct follow-ups at 30, 60 and 90 days and assist participants with housing, transportation, identification documents, Medicaid enrollment and connections to medical providers in the communities where they return.
According to Johnson, no Stepworks program participant has overdosed following completion of the program and release from jail.
"Kentucky's 24-month lookback for recidivism in incarceration is 30.81%,” Johnson said. "At Stepworks, we administer a once-a-month injection in conjunction with individual and group counseling and peer-led re-entry. Our recidivism rate for the last 24 months is 2%."
Funding and implementation
Committee members discussed the cost of the injectable treatment and potential funding sources available to counties.
Hensley said the cost of an injection when purchasing wholesale is about $1,500. The Boyd County Jail has used opioid settlement funds administered by both the county fiscal court and the state advisory commission.
While the injectable medication has a higher upfront cost than oral treatment, Hensley said the reduced staff time, medication diversion concerns, and lower recidivism rates make the program a worthwhile investment for the county.
The discussion highlighted how county jails are working to address opioid use disorder by connecting inmates with treatment and resources during both incarceration and reentry.
Click here to watch the Sept. 15, 2026 meeting of the Interim Joint Committee on Local Government.
