(WKYT) – Attorney General Russell Coleman announced a new online tool on Tuesday that will track how opioid abatement funds are spent at the local and state levels.
The tool is an online dashboard created in partnership with the University of Kentucky Rapid Actionable Data for Response and is housed on the Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission website.
The dashboard pulls reporting from local governments and state grant funding and makes it accessible to the public. Data will be updated regularly, and new functionality will be developed over the next several months.
State officials are excited about the new tool.
“This is the first time we can accurately show what resources are coming into Kentucky to battle the opioid epidemic and how they are being used. This information will allow Kentuckians to maximize the opportunity we have before us to save lives and change the trajectory of substance misuse in the Commonwealth,” said Christopher Evans, the director of Kentucky’s Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission.
Attorney General Coleman said it will allow Kentuckians to see what is being done to combat drugs across the state.
“Across Kentucky, communities are investing in the three-legged stool of prevention, treatment and enforcement efforts to combat the drug crisis and to save lives. Now, every Kentuckian can see how these resources are being invested to promote best practices, innovative ideas and – above all – hope,” he said.
Since 2023, the commission has awarded 300 grants totaling $86.5 million to organizations throughout Kentucky focused on prevention, treatment and recovery work, as well as innovation.