Kentucky Comeback Tour Pikeville

The Kentucky Comeback initiative, created by the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, will visit Pikeville to engage business leaders, elected officials, and community leaders on how they can get involved in transforming Kentucky’s approach to criminal justice reform and substance use disorder recovery.
 
Kentucky’s workforce crisis has many root causes, including incarceration and criminal backgrounds, and substance use disorder, according to a report released by the Kentucky Chamber Foundation. Kentucky’s workforce participation rate ranks in the bottom 10 among the 50 states. It also has the fifth-highest incarceration rate in the nation, and more than 2,000 Kentuckians died from a drug overdose in 2021. Kentucky can and must do better.
The presentation will include:

• Data on where Kentucky stands in terms of substance use, criminal justice, and workforce.
• Policies that have been implemented, as well as additional steps that Kentucky must take to address these issues and make meaningful, long-term change.
• How employers can get involved in programs to find talent, improve their workplaces, and retain employees while helping remove barriers, reduce stigma, and increase second chances for Kentuckians in need.
• Input from attendees on issues relating to criminal justice reform and substance use disorder.