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Officials say tobacco-settlement dollars fund early-childhood services, cessation and treatment programs
Summary
At the November meeting of the Tobacco Settlement Agreement Oversight Committee, early-childhood and health officials described programs paid for with tobacco-settlement funds — from quit lines and vaping-prevention education to home-visiting and substance-use recovery services — and answered members’ questions about budgets and capacity.
The Tobacco Settlement Agreement Oversight Committee heard a series of annual updates in November on programs financed by tobacco-settlement revenues, including prevention and cessation work, early-childhood services and treatment programs.
Lynn Baker, executive director of the Governor’s Office of Early Childhood, and Elizabeth Good, director in the Department for Public Health, told the committee that tobacco-settlement appropriations support a range of initiatives aimed at prevention, family supports and clinical services. Good said the Department for Public Health’s tobacco-prevention work reached nearly 11,000 students with vaping-education resources in fiscal 2024 and that more than 4,000 Kentucky residents enrolled in Quit Now Kentucky last year. "Quit Line usage doubles a person's chance of quitting smoking," Good said.
Baker described workforce and system-building efforts that the Governor’s Office of Early Childhood oversees, including the early-childhood registered apprenticeship program and a regional collaborative network. She told members the office is "appropriated 1.2" for its programs and that it uses a carry-forward balance to cover personnel and operating costs; the presentation did not specify the unit for that figure.
Speakers also reviewed home-visiting and mental-health services for young children. Holly Lafavers said the Kentucky HANS (Health Access Nurturing Development Services) visitation program employs 349 full-time staff and served more than 6,000 families this year, delivering roughly 140,000 in-person and virtual visits. Early-childhood mental-health specialists were described as providing thousands of billable and non-billable clinical hours across 14 regional centers.
Officials from the Department for Behavioral Health described programs for pregnant and parenting people, including the Kentucky MOMs maternal-assistance and recovery program, which operates through community mental-health centers and reached large numbers via prevention and outreach events. Sarah Johnson reported that Chrysalis House provided residential treatment to 232 women this year and that other facilities and recovery programs supported hundreds more.
Andrea Day, director of the Division of Child Care, said tobacco-settlement funds primarily back the Kentucky All STARS quality-rating system and professional-development scholarships; she reported the state now supports subsidies for more than 23,000 families and nearly 40,000 children and that about 2,000 regulated child-care programs remain licensed statewide with a licensed capacity near 164,000 slots (pre-pandemic capacity was about 165,000).
Members pressed for budget and outcome data. Representative Roark asked if the programs just described are paid from the tobacco-settlement fund; Baker replied that the strategies presented are funded by tobacco settlement appropriations. Senator Boswell and Representative Brown asked for longitudinal mental-health and budget details; presenters said they would provide more specific numbers on trends and carry-forward balances after the meeting.
The committee did not take new formal policy actions on these presentations. The chair closed by thanking presenters and noting the next meeting date.
The committee will reconvene December 19 at 10:30 a.m.
