Attorney General Jack Conway, Gov. Steve Beshear, First Lady Jane Beshear and members of the Substance Abuse Treatment Advisory Committee are reminding community groups and treatment providers that submissions are currently being accepted for $19 million in juvenile substance abuse treatment grants through the KY Kids Recovery program. The deadline for submissions is March 31, 2014.
The grants will fund comprehensive juvenile substance abuse treatment programs, both expanding treatment beds at existing facilities and creating new juvenile treatment programs with the full continuum of care, including intensive outpatient and follow-up care centers.
“Far too many parents have been forced to wait at least 90 days to get their children help or they’ve had to drive four hours away from home to find a treatment bed,” said General Conway, who chairs the Substance Abuse Treatment Advisory Committee. “The goal of our committee is to maximize these grants to fund public-private partnerships that will result in expanded treatment for teens in every region of Kentucky.”
Kentucky only has about one-tenth of the treatment beds it needs, and according to the most recent report from the Substance Abuse Health and Mental Services Administration, one in eight Kentucky high school students meet the criteria for a substance abuse disorder.
“This expansion of treatment availability continues our work to provide a multi-level strategy to fight addiction – a strategy that includes law enforcement, community leaders, and health care providers,” said Gov. Beshear. “For thousands of Kentuckians, this expansion will offer an opportunity to restore their health and return to productive lives.”
The Substance Abuse Advisory Committee will review the submissions and invite the best responses to submit a second formal proposal. The committee’s request for information (RFI) may be found by visiting this linkhttp://goo.gl/q7Q4wM.
“The need for treatment is so vast, which is why we need innovative partners to make this expansion of treatment a reality,” said Mrs. Beshear. “I have every confidence that we will find the partners we need to give Kentuckians a fighting chance to leave addiction behind.”
Existing providers, new providers, community partnerships and non-profits may apply for KY Kids Recovery grants. For more information about the program and qualifications visit www.kykidsrecovery.ky.gov.
Substance Abuse Advisory Committee
Gov. Beshear created the Substance Abuse Treatment Advisory Committee by executive order to oversee the distribution of the settlement funds and the KY Kids Recovery grant program.
In addition to Attorney General Conway and First Lady Jane Beshear, committee members include: Cabinet for Health and Family Services Secretary Audrey Tayse Haynes, Justice and Public Safety Secretary J. Michael Brown, Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy Director Van Ingram, Kentucky Housing Corporation Executive Director/CEO J. Kathryn Peters and Dr. Allen Brenzel, Clinical Director of the Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities. Rep. Jimmy Lee serves as an ex-officio member of the committee.
History of KY Kids Recovery Grants
The KY Kids Recovery grants were created after Attorney General Conway settled cases against two pharmaceutical companies for $32 million. The court orders filed in both settlements require that the funds be spent on drug treatment programs.
In addition to the $19 million in KY Kids Recovery grants, the settlement is providing
$500, 000 to complete construction of a Recovery Kentucky center in Ashland, $2.5 million for almost 900 scholarships over two years to Recovery Kentucky centers, and $560,000 to create 14 drug-free homes for people completing and transitioning out of residential substance abuse treatment programs.
The following entities will also receive funds over the next two years from the settlement:
- $6 million to administer and upgrade KASPER, Kentucky’s electronic prescription drug monitoring program.
- $1 million to support substance abuse treatment for pregnant women by Chrysalis House in Lexington and Independence House in Corbin.
- $1.5 million to the University of Kentucky to develop best practices for juvenile substance abuse treatment providers.
- $1 million to develop a school-based substance abuse screening tool with the Kentucky Department of Education to intervene with at-risk children before they enter judicial or social services systems.
- $250,000 to create a database to evaluate outcomes of juvenile treatment.
For more information about Attorney General Conway’s efforts to fight substance abuse, visit www.ag.ky.gov/rxabuse.
You can follow Attorney General Conway on Twitter @kyoag, visit the Attorney General’s Facebook page or view videos on our YouTube channel.
