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Fiscal Court approves opioid-abatement agreements, funds outreach position and first-phase transit support
Summary
Franklin County approved memoranda of understanding using opioid-abatement funds to sustain an outreach position and to pay a first-phase share of transit service with Bluegrass Community Action Transit to support youth and recovery transportation.
Frankfort — Franklin County Fiscal Court on June 30 voted to authorize opioid-abatement–funded agreements that will keep an outreach position in place for the coming fiscal year and seed a transportation partnership to move residents — especially youth and people in recovery — to services.
Charlie Kendall, board coordinator for the Franklin County Agency for Substance Abuse Policy (ASAP), told the court the county has been awarded $750,000 spread over two years from the state opioid-abatement cycle. He said the court’s requested contribution will cover the final $45,000 for an outreach/community-engagement position for this fiscal year and allow the program’s casework to continue while staff pursue sustainability.
“The 45,000 [dollars] is for that position in this fiscal year,” Kendall said. He described how outreach staff make individualized plans that address transportation, childcare and other barriers that otherwise keep people from treatment or required court appearances.
Ashley, the outreach coordinator introduced to the court, summarized results from June 2025–June 2026: she said she worked with 169 unique individuals in that period and currently manages 93 active cases (52 adults and 41 juveniles). She said local diversion and violence-prevention efforts have yielded measurable outcomes, including lower truancy and a low reoffense rate for a high-risk juvenile program.
Separately, the court approved a memorandum of understanding with Bluegrass Community Action Transit to pilot routing and on-demand runs for youth programs, recovery-related appointments and certain court-ordered transportation. Kendall asked the court to commit $75,000 as the county’s share for the fiscal year to help Bluegrass plan routes and provide vehicles and drivers.
Kendall described the MOU as intentionally flexible: “We have in mind about four to five different routes, and we’re gonna sit down with him and go through those,” he said, adding the arrangement is designed for week-to-week variability as demand changes.
The court moved the two agreements in the voting session and approved them. The memorandum with ASAP was approved by the court without recorded dissent; the transportation MOU with Bluegrass Community Action Transit was also approved.
What happens next: the court’s contribution will be portioned to align with the state funding cycle, county staff said, and the Bluegrass pilot will be coordinated with the city transit system as the partners refine routes and stops.
