Kenton County jail reports 368 people served in substance-abuse program; state evaluation scores program 100%

Jailer Fields and program director David Wray briefed the Fiscal Court on the county’s in-jail substance-abuse program on July 14. Since the program’s inception in February 2025 it has served 368 people; of those, 149 participants were placed in the program by Circuit or District judges and 51 were ordered in the most recent six months. The program provides case management, level-of-care reports to judges and attorneys, and transition services to community-based treatment.

Fields said the program lost the CORE grant that had previously funded beds statewide, but staff intend to continue services using other resources. David Wray, who has worked 16 years in behavioral-clinical roles behind the jail walls, described the program’s role in producing reports for the courts and assisting reentry. On June 30 the Kentucky Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities completed its evaluation and the program scored 100%, officials said.

Officials characterized the operation as a local priority to reduce recidivism and better prepare individuals for community reentry; no new funding source was specified at the meeting.