As counties across Kentucky continue to explore ways to address the opioid epidemic using funds from national settlement agreements, the Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission is emphasizing transparency, collaboration and clear connections to opioid-related outcomes in its grant-making process.
During a recent webinar hosted in conjunction with KACo, Commission Deputy Director Jessie Halladay, shared insight into how the state evaluated opioid grant applications.
“When you look across all of the grants that were funded, you will find consistently collaboration and documentation of that collaboration in the form of letters of support,” Halladay said. “There was community buy-in to the work that was being done with.”
- Watch the April 3, 2025 webinar Opioid Settlement Funding: What’s Been Funded So Far
- View presentation slides
In addition to collaboration, Halladay said the Commission looks closely at whether proposals include specific, measurable goals and realistic, focused budgets. Only projects with a clear connection to opioid use disorder or co-occurring conditions are eligible for funding under the settlement terms.
Two programs were highlighted during the presentation: The Mobile Access to Recovery program in western Kentucky and Hardin County’s Quick Response Team. Both programs were among the 75 grant recipients recently announced by the Commission and Attorney General Russell Coleman.
The Commission oversees part of the nearly $1 billion in opioid settlement funds that will be distributed to Kentucky over the next several years. Local governments are also receiving funds, which must be used on abatement initiatives such as treatment, harm reduction, recovery and youth prevention efforts.
Counties interested in technical assistance and learning more about opioid settlement best practices are encouraged to contact KACo Opioid Settlement Advisor Lauren Carr at lauren.carr@kaco.org and explore KACo’s opioid settlement resource page.
