-
Support Efforts to Hire People in Recovery
With Kentucky’s workforce participation rate among the lowest in the nation, in part due to drug abuse, employers are in dire need of qualified job applicants. Encouraging employment of those in recovery will not only help boost workforce participation, it can also support individuals with histories of substance use disorder remain in recovery and continue leading successful, productive lives. This should include evaluating the success of the Kentucky Transformational Employment Program (KTEP), which empowers employers to hire, retain, and assist workers struggling with substance use disorder.
-
Identify Those at Risk
Use data from state health coverage programs such as Medicaid and the state employee health plan, to identify patients at risk of opioid abuse and direct them to appropriate resources. With more than 1.6 million Kentuckians covered by these two plans (36% of the state population), the state should follow examples of existing programs. WellCare, a Medicaid Managed Care Organization, recently instituted a program designed to reduce opioid prescriptions by identifying those most at risk for misuse of opioids and connecting each patient to one pharmacy, one health care provider and a case manager with training in substance abuse.
-
Continue Use of Mandatory Prescription Monitoring Programs (KASPER)
Identify health providers who fraudulently prescribe opioids, but also use monitoring data to identify patients abusing opioids and direct them to treatment or other interventions instead of focusing on incarceration or allowing them to slip through the cracks.
-
Encourage the Creation of Needle Exchange Programs
In addition to reducing the spread of disease, people who inject drugs and use these programs are five times more likely to enter a treatment program for substance abuse.
-
Engage the Medical Community and Licensure Boards
Ensure that sound pain management practices are being used when prescribing opioids (such as the CDC guidelines) and consider the need for any changes in state law to improve compliance.
-
Increase State Support for Substance Abuse Treatment
Use data in the annual report of the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy and Kentucky Agency for Substance Abuse Policy to help outline the total number and location of substance abuse treatment beds in Kentucky, provide treatment utilization data, and identify areas in need of services. Also, ensure full implementation of mental health parity laws that require private health insurance to cover mental health treatment to the same degree as physical health.
-
Create Local Collaboratives with Community and Business Leaders
Discuss the opioid problem, provide public education, and consider innovative solutions.
-
Justice Code Modernization
The goal of criminal justice reform is reducing incarceration and recidivism, making communities safer, supporting workforce participation. We encourage the General Assembly to continue reviewing Kentucky’s criminal statutes with the goal of creating more alternatives to incarceration for low-level, non-violent crimes and reserve incarceration for more serious offenses.
-
Reclassify Drug Possession as a Misdemeanor and Prioritize Treatment over Incarceration
We support efforts to reduce the number of offenders being incarcerated for felony drug possession. Individuals arrested for possession charges should be given opportunities to seek treatment and get their lives back on track instead of incarceration.
-
Remove Barriers to Education, Training, and Licensing Opportunities for Ex-Felons
Individuals exiting incarceration need to have ample access to opportunities to succeed and avoid recidivism. This should include opportunities for education, workforce training, and professional licensing. We support legislation to remove barriers to state scholarship programs, such as KEES, and professional licensing for Kentuckians with criminal histories.
-
Bail Reform
We support reforms to Kentucky’s bail system, transitioning the system to focus on the offense and offender and not on their financial means. These reforms would eliminate cash bail and a pretrial hearing and judicial discretion would determine whether someone is kept incarcerated. In 2016, there were 64,123 non-violent, nonsexual defendants detained in Kentucky because they could not afford their bail. Meanwhile, 43 high-risk, violent or sexual offenders were released after posting a monetary bail. In 2017, local governments lost $152 million because of Kentucky’s current bail reform system.
-
Expungement Reform
Kentucky made history in 2016 with passage of felony expungement legislation and has built on this progress with additional reforms in 2019 and 2020. Expungement is a proven tool to fight recidivism and support employment and workforce participation. We support further efforts to continue increasing access to expungement in Kentucky.
What Has Passed in Kentucky
-
Recovery Ready Communities
Establishes a framework for communities to become “Recovery Ready,” bringing much-needed consistency to local substance use prevention, treatment, and recovery efforts and also created an advisory council to develop a certification for Recovery Ready Communities.
-
Harm Reduction
Clarifies that fentanyl found on test strips should not be included in the definition of fentanyl and test equipment is not drug paraphernalia.
-
Recovery Housing Standards
Ensures high-quality recovery housing by establishing statewide minimum standards for the operation of recovery residences.
-
Mandatory Prescription Monitoring
Kentucky was one of the first states to create a system (called KASPER) to monitor prescriptions for controlled substances. Created in 1999, KASPER is used to track all prescriptions for a controlled substance for an individual patient. The system allows for real time tracking, and 2012 legislation requires health care providers to obtain a KASPER report on a patient to determine whether a patient already has a prescription from another provider before writing a prescription for certain controlled drugs.
-
Regulation of Pain Clinics
The 2012 legislation also established standards for pain clinics. The law defined a “pain management facility” as any facility where the majority of patients receive treatment for pain. All pain management facilities must register with the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure, and physicians who prescribe controlled drugs to patients are required to complete special training in pain management. The CDC cited Kentucky as a success story in the mandatory use of KASPER and regulation of pain clinics and noted that opioid prescriptions were reduced in 62% of Kentucky counties as a result.
-
Limits on Painkiller Prescriptions
Kentucky, along with 17 other states, has enacted laws limiting the number of prescription painkillers that health providers can prescribe. Kentucky’s law took effect in August 2017 and limited prescriptions for opioids to a three-day supply in most cases. The 2018 annual report of the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy found that the total number of doses for opioids declined from 267.2 million in 2017 to 250.1 million in 2018, a reduction of 6.4%. A poll released in July 2018 by the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky found that the number of adults who reported getting prescriptions for pain medication had dropped significantly; 34% said they had received prescriptions for pain medications in the prior five years, a drop from 55% in 2011.
-
Workers’ Compensation Drug Formulary
Opioid drugs represent the largest class of drugs prescribed in Kentucky workers’ compensation cases. Legislation enacted by the 2018 General Assembly creates medical treatment guidelines for chronic pain management provided to injured workers in addition to a drug formulary that limits drugs that can be prescribed under the program. Research indicates that the use of treatment guidelines and formularies in workers’ compensation programs can reduce the use of opioid drugs, lower costs and return employees to work more quickly.
-
Naloxone Access
Naloxone is a medication that can reverse an opioid overdose by blocking the effects of opioid on the brain and restoring breathing. Kentucky enacted legislation in 2015 that allows law enforcement officers, firefighters, jailers, EMS personnel, school personnel and others to administer naloxone without a prescription and with immunity from legal liability if the drug is administered in good faith. The Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy maintains an online registry that allows the public to locate pharmacies in their area that supply naloxone without a prescription. The registry, which is the first of its type in the nation, also provides directions on how to provide first aid to a person experiencing an overdose.
-
Recovery Through Employment
Passed in 2020, Senate Bill 191 establishes a framework for employers that retain and hire people who are in addiction recovery and provides legal liability protections for those employers that adhere to the framework.
-
Opioid Disposal
Passed in 2018, House Bill 148 permits hospice to dispose of the controlled substances of a deceased hospice patient, an important step to curb Kentucky’s opioid crisis.
-
Addressing Heroin Epidemic
Passed in 2015, Senate Bill 192 sought to address the scourge of heroin in the state through treatment funding, tougher penalties on dealers, and c programs to allow local governments to set up needle exchanges and other health initiatives.
-
Behavioral Health Diversion Pilot Program
Senate Bill 90 included $21 million to fund a new pilot program aimed at diverting individuals with mental health issues and substance use disorder away from incarceration and into treatment. These resources have helped to reduce incarceration and give more Kentuckians the opportunities they need to succeed instead of spending time behind bars.
-
Felony Theft Threshold
In 2021, the General Assembly voted to raise the felony theft threshold to reduce the number of people with felony convictions, which can be an impediment to employment.
-
Juvenile Justice
In 2021, the General Assembly passed legislation to return discretion to local prosecutors and local judges in local communities, instead of creating automatic transfers of minors in certain cases from district to circuit court.
-
Expungement
Passed in 2020, House Bill 327 provides automatic expungement of criminal records after acquittals and dismissals with prejudice. Passed in 2019, Senate Bill 57 expands the expungement law by allowing discretionary expungement of Class D felonies with judicial discretion and lowers the filing fee from $500 to $250.
-
Probation Credits
Passed in 2020, House Bill 287 creates education and work credits for individuals on probation.
-
Re-Entry Reform
Passed in 2017, Senate Bill 120 made several improvements to the justice system to reduce recidivism rates including allowing a former felon to apply for a professional license.
-
Felony Expungement
Passed in 2016, House Bill 40 allows for the expungement of some nonviolent, nonsexual class D felonies while providing provisions that offer protection for employers.
-
Juvenile Justice Reform
Passed in 2014, Senate Bill 200 reformed Kentucky’s juvenile justice system by helping youthful offenders redirect their lives while ensuring public safety and a more efficient use of state tax dollars.
-
Corrections Reform
Passed in 2011, House Bill 463 sought to address the high costs of the state’s corrections system, which was identified by the Kentucky Chamber’s Leaky Bucket report.
-
Corrections Costs
Passed in 2010, House Bill 564 reduced incarceration time for offenders who complete programs or perform acts of a meritorious nature. Significant savings are also realized through expanded home incarceration and administrative efficiencies such as e-mailing of jail inspection reports.
