In the first meeting of the National Association of Counties Opioid Solutions Leadership Network, four Kentuckians, including three KACo board members, met this week in North Carolina to look at strategies for effective implementation of opioid settlement funds.
Boone County Judge/Executive Gary Moore, Harlan County Judge/Executive Dan Mosley, Madison County Judge/Executive Reagan Taylor and Lauren Carr, executive director of the Graves County Agency for Substance Abuse Prevention, represented Kentucky in this important initiative.
“The NACo Opioid Solutions Network event in Granville and Vance counties, North Carolina was a wonderful learning experience,” said Mosley, KACo’s First Vice President. “Listening to leaders and experts from across the country talk about successful practices has expanded my knowledge on this subject matter. Determining effective investment strategies for opioid settlement funds is the ultimate goal of this group.
“Based on our experience at this convening, we’ve learned a lot about what is working well and not so well in certain areas,” Mosley added. “We have seen some great examples of work being done in this area of North Carolina to combat the effects of the opioid problem. I’m excited to take back what I’ve learned to my county and share with other county leaders across Kentucky to see what can be implemented to help all of our efforts.”
The peer exchange focused on three primary themes:
- Delivering evidence-based treatment in rural communities
- Coordinating services to create a comprehensive system of care, and
- Using opioid settlement funds to implement sustainable improvements.
Participants engaged with national thought leaders and local practitioners. With a vision toward efficient investment of settlement resources, participants discussed pathways to overcome obstacles and pursue new opportunities.
“Being a part of this leadership network will enable us to collaborate and share best evidenced-based practices to use our settlement funds to have the greatest impact on our community, said Taylor, who is KACo’s Immediate Past President. “This peer exchange can enable us to take advantage of countless ideas and solutions that have proven to be effective across the country. I’m no expert, but I like to surround myself with people who are. This gives us an opportunity to learn from others and that is always a good thing.”
Moore, who served as NACo President in 2020-21, worked on this issue beginning in 2016 when he was the national co-chair of the opioid task force created by NACo and the National League of Cities.
“Negative issues like the over-prescribing of opioids and other legal and illegal pain medications have wreaked havoc on our citizens,” Moore said. “(However) many successes have occurred since then, and I believe our best work is ahead of us.”
The meeting marks the first of two in-person meetings this year for the county leaders named to the Network.
“It is an absolute honor to have been selected to serve on this National workgroup, and I know Madison County is the real beneficiary,” Taylor said. “I am excited to learn from peers across the country as we all face the challenges from this drug epidemic that have impacted our communities, families, workforce and schools.
“I believe that we will see the greatest impact on our community when we leverage and invest our opioid settlement funds in a thoughtful, intentional and strategic way to have longstanding and generational solutions,” Taylor added. “It must be a coordinated plan to maximize the benefits.”
