Madison County updates diversion programs and opioid advisory council working on spending plan

RICHMOND, Ky. — County Attorney Jenny Hayman told the Madison County Fiscal Court on May 27 that formal and community diversion programs are producing measurable results and that the county’s opioid advisory task force is taking a cautious approach to recommending how to spend opioid settlement funds.

Hayman, who leads the county’s diversion efforts and chairs the local opioid advisory council, said Madison County partners with Baptist Health Richmond’s Thrive Center for intensive outpatient programs (IOP) and with other providers and agencies for misdemeanor diversion, inpatient placements and specialty services. Hayman described multiple referral pathways and shared outcome figures she said the court would find meaningful.

Program results Hayman summarized include 191 individuals referred from the court to Baptist Health between the 2022–2023 and 2023–2024 windows; of those, she said 120 initiated IOP. About 50 percent of those who began IOP completed what Baptist Health calls phase 1 (the most intensive portion), and for people who completed phase 1, the later-phase completion rate was about 72 percent. Hayman said these conversions are the most important measures for her office: “It’s a balance of deciding, providing the defendant treatment, but also not giving them the opportunity to violate your all's rights,” she said, describing the choices the court faces when diverting defendants to treatment rather than jail.

Hayman also gave figures for misdemeanor diversion programs run with local partners. From April 2024 through April 2025, the county placed 284 people into misdemeanor diversion programs (courses such as corrective thinking, firearm responsibility and shoplifting education). She said successful completion can result in dismissal of the case.

State pilot and partnerships Hayman said Madison County is one of 11 pilot sites in Kentucky for the state’s Senate Bill 90 program; the county has sent about 24 people through that program, with mixed success so far. She said an obstacle has been that many SB 90 assessments are telehealth instruments that recommend low-intensity outpatient treatment, which may be insufficient for some defendants.

Task force process and funding The opioid advisory task force — a five-member panel Hayman chairs — is developing a “roadmap to a model community” and mapping existing prevention, intervention and recovery services to identify gaps. The task force has sought presentations from community partners including Operation Unite, local schools, Kentucky River Foothills and others to understand program design, outcomes and sustainability. Hayman told the court the group is especially focused on prevention programs aimed at younger ages to achieve intergenerational impact.

The court heard that roughly $1.9 million in opioid settlement funds has been made available to local governments; Hayman and the task force said they are deliberately vetting programs for sustainability rather than rushing to grant awards. A timeline for a formal recommendation has moved out past an initial end‑of‑year estimate as the task force continues to examine which approaches can be sustained once grant funding ends.

New technologies discussed Several members of the court raised an emerging medical device described in public comment as the “net device,” a wearable aimed at short-term management of withdrawal that is (according to speakers) pursuing FDA approval. Court members said they would follow up with local medical providers and treatment partners about any local pilot possibilities but noted medical assessment and provider judgment would determine appropriateness for individual patients.

Hayman said the county also leverages Department of Public Advocacy social worker (ASW) placements to help secure inpatient treatment where appropriate and credited Baptist Health Richmond’s in-county services as a valuable local resource.

No formal fiscal action was taken during the update; the advisory council is developing a recommendation on distribution and expects more detailed proposals in coming months.