KYA staff attended the Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission announcement on March 27th in Louisville.

At the end of March, the Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission approved more than $19.8 million in new funding across the Commonwealth – investments that reflect a powerful alignment between values and action in Kentucky’s ongoing response to the opioid epidemic. 

This latest cycle included two core funding opportunities: one focused on prevention efforts and the other on treatment and recovery. As a reminder, the KYOAAC is responsible for distributing 50% of the opioid settlement dollars. (You can learn more about the way funds are distributed in Kentucky here.) 

What the Investments Say about KYOAAC’s Priorities

When funding is distributed, we see values at work and this cycle clearly signals the KYOAAC’s commitment to:

  • Whole-person recovery and long-term stability: Many funded organizations, from Stable Recovery to Voices of Hope, go beyond short-term care and instead integrate housing, workforce training, mental health, and peer support to foster long-term independence.
  • Family-first and community-driven strategies: Grantees like ChooseWell Communities, KVC Behavioral Healthcare, and Save the Children focus specifically on parents, children, and caregivers, recognizing that prevention and recovery often start at home. 
  • Empowering youth through prevention: Programs led by Big Brothers Big Sisters, Operation UNITE, Learning Grove, Lexington Leadership Foundation, and local school districts are equipping young people to make healthy decisions, build resilience, and even mentor peers—all while addressing the root causes of substance use before addiction begins.
  • Harm reduction and treatment access: From real-time medication monitoring by Fresh Start Health Centers to statewide harm reduction infrastructure led by the Kentucky Health Departments Association and at the local level with Barren County Fiscal Court, this funding reflects a clear investment in science-backed, compassionate care.
  • Scalable solutions: Though grantees serve diverse counties—from Jefferson to Perry to McCracken—many grants are designed to scale regionally or statewide, ensuring that both rural and urban communities have access to recovery capital. 

Kentucky Youth Advocates is honored to be amongst the many awardees. We are looking forward to supporting counties in utilizing the data made available through the Opioid Data Dashboard on Children and Families to best target their investments for interventions that will lead to maximum impact and prevent future generations from experiencing the devastation of the opioid epidemic. Our project will also build community capacity with tangible strategies for cultivating resilience through trauma-informed approaches and mental health training tools.  

Sign up for email updates here to learn when new data and resources are added to KYA’s Opioid Data Dashboard on Children and Families.

With more than $12.6 million going to treatment and recovery efforts and $7.1 million to prevention, this funding cycle stands as a reminder that Kentucky is not just reacting to the opioid crisis, it’s building the systems, supports, and partnerships to mitigate its impact.

Watch the March 25th KYOAAC meeting and grant award discussion here, learn more about the organizations that received grant funding here, and see the press conference that took place on March 27th here.