Health Department Seeks Opioid‑Settlement Funds to Preserve Clark County Recovery Community Center Peer Support Position

Clark County Health Department officials asked the fiscal court to consider using opioid‑abatement funds to support peer support capacity at the Recovery Community Center (RCC), saying the program faces a projected $103,000 shortfall for fiscal year 2026.

Meccy Kisic of the Clark County Health Department, accompanied by Sheila Brown, RCC director of operations, outlined the RCC’s peer‑led services, relocation plans, service volumes and budget needs. Brown said RCC services are free and peer‑led: “All of our services are free,” she said, listing peer support coaching, self‑help meetings, skill workshops, harm‑reduction outreach and transportation.

Brown reported program activity since October: 32 outreach events affecting about 472 people, 294 self‑help meetings with 2,858 attendees and, since January, four social events (137 attendees) and 309 transports for IDs, housing or other services. Kisic said the health department absorbed some RCC funding after a local nonprofit dissolved and that certain foundation grants were not portable because the health department is not a 501(c)(3).

Kisic said the RCC will move from its current site into the health department’s lower level at 400 Professional Avenue to reduce space costs and better integrate administrative support. She estimated the RCC’s total fiscal‑year deficit at roughly $103,000 and said hiring (or replacing) a peer support specialist costs about $49,680 annually, including equipment and subscriptions.

Kisic asked the fiscal court to consider using opioid‑abatement settlement funds for the peer support position, saying allowable uses include peer support and community treatment referral services under published guidance. She provided court members a guidance sheet from the organization she cited as CACO describing acceptable uses of opioid settlement funds and referenced Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS) eligibility language as relevant to fund use.

Court members pressed for details on inpatient treatment pathways and barriers to care. Brown described RCC’s transport and referral process: peers make referrals, accompany clients to treatment when needed and will transport individuals immediately if a facility cannot pick them up. Brown said Medicaid typically covers inpatient treatment and that RCC coordinates with facilities that accept private insurance when applicable.

Kisic also discussed sustainability plans: the health department intends to bill under the Community Health Worker (CHW) preventive fee schedule beginning July 1 for group services, which could generate recurring revenue. She said initial estimates from a pilot (3 Rivers District Health Department) suggest a CHW group could bill roughly $420 per group depending on size and that the preventive fee schedule rate equates to about $22.98 per person per 30 minutes.

During the meeting a member moved to consider funding one peer support position from available appropriations; no formal roll‑call vote to appropriate opioid‑abatement funds for that specific position was recorded in the public transcript. Presenters agreed to submit an application and follow‑up materials; court members asked for that documentation and said they would review it at the next meeting.