The Opioid Abatement Trust Fund holds the state government’s 50% share of opioid settlement funds (i.e., the “Commonwealth Share”).[1]
With limited exceptions,[2] funds from the Commonwealth Share must be spent on the uses described in state law, KRS 15.291(5).[3] This state law outlines:
28 categories of permissible forward-looking abatement projects.[4] These categories vary widely and include, for example, projects to provide access to opioid-abatement-related housing (e.g., supportive housing) and “evidence-informed treatment, recovery support, harm reduction, or other appropriate services to individuals with OUD and co-occurring SUD/MH issues” who are justice-involved.
3 categories of permissible reimbursement expenses: outpatient and residential treatment services, emergency response, and naloxone administration.[5]
Funds may also be used for "[a]ny other project deemed appropriate for opioid-abatement purposes by the [Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission].”[6]
Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission decides. The Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission (KYOAAC) ultimately decides specific expenditures for the Commonwealth Share and distributes the funds via grants.[7] Both non-governmental entities such as community-based and non-profit organizations and government agencies may apply for grants through KYOAAC’s grant portal.[8]
The application process is as follows:
An application is submitted via the KYOAAC grant portal.
KYOAAC reviews applications on a continuous basis according to a range of criteria,[9] such as:
Applicant’s record of effectively utilizing settlement funds previously.
Geographic reach and extent to which project would reach un(der)served. populations.
Incorporation of relevant partnerships
Alignment with evidence-based practices.
Recipients of granted funds must certify quarterly to the KYOAAC that funds were used on the projects and reimbursement uses described in KRS 15.291(5).[10]
No, supplantation is not prohibited. Like most states, Kentucky does not explicitly prohibit supplantation uses of its opioid settlement funds. This means that the 50% Commonwealth share may be spent in ways that replace (or “supplant”) — rather than supplement — existing resources.
Yes (public reporting required). Visit the Real Dollars for Real Recovery website, which lists the grant amount, recipient, county, and category of funding. Kentucky state law requires KYOAAC to maintain a website on which it publishes funding awards and reports of funding.[11]
Visit OpioidSettlementTracker.com’s Expenditure Report Tracker for an updated collection of states’ and localities’ available expenditure reports.
Not applicable.
Ky. Rev. Stat. Secs. 15.293(2), (3)(a). ↑
See Ky. Rev. Stat. Secs. 15.293(9)(a) (“The Department of Law may recover its reasonable costs of litigation from the moneys received under subsection (3)(a) of this section”), (9)(b) (“The Department of Law may recover any direct costs, including employee time, used to perform or administer the duties required by this section and KRS 15.291 from the moneys received under subsection (3)(a) of this section. The Department of Law shall report all such recovered costs to the commission no less than annually”). ↑
Ky. Rev. Stat. Secs. 15.291(5), 15.293(5). ↑
Ky. Rev. Stat. Sec. 15.291(5)(b). ↑
Ky. Rev. Stat. Sec. 15.291(5)(a). ↑
Ky. Rev. Stat. Sec. 15.291(5)(b)(29). ↑
Ky. Rev. Stat. Sec. 15.291(5). See also Ky. Rev. Stat. Sec. 15.293(2) (providing that Opioid Abatement Trust Fund monies "shall not be appropriated or transferred by the General Assembly for any other purposes"). ↑
40 Ky. Admin. Regs. 9:010, Sec. 2 (“An entity or governmental agency shall be eligible for opioid abatement funding…”). See also 40 Ky. Admin. Regs. 9:010, Sec. 1(1) (defining “Entity” to have the same meaning as in KRS 14A.1-070(7)); Ky. Rev. Stat. Sec. 14A.1-070(7) (An “entity” is “a corporation, business or statutory trust, partnership, limited partnership, limited liability company, limited cooperative association, or unincorporated nonprofit association, governed as to its internal affairs by the laws of the Commonwealth of Kentucky”). Note that “[t]o submit an application using the OAAC Grant Portal, an applicant shall be required to become an approved state vendor.” 40 Ky. Admin. Regs. 9:010, Sec. 3(1). ↑
40 Ky. Admin. Regs. 9:010, Sec. 4(4). ↑
40 Ky. Admin. Regs. 9:010, Sec. 5(1).Ky. Rev. Stat. Sec. 15.293(4)(c)(1) describes an annual certification requirement for “[e]ach recipient of moneys from the fund,” but subsequent materials, including 40 KAR 9:010, establish a quarterly reporting requirement. Entities or governmental agencies that fail to comply with the certification requirement “forfeit any remaining fund received from the commission” and are banned from receiving future funds from the commission. 40 Ky. Admin. Regs. 9:010, Sec. 6(3)-(4). ↑
Ky. Rev. Stat. Sec. 15.291(7)(a). ↑