FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX NEWS) — The Franklin County Regional Jail is celebrating major milestones in its substance abuse and recovery programs, with nearly 400 women graduating since 2024. The jail has also emerged as the statewide leader in GED graduations.
Franklin County Jailer Tracy Hopper oversees the effort, which draws participants from across Kentucky.
"We have people from all over the state come here," Hopper said.
The jail operates two six-month programs in partnership with Shepherds House: the Substance Abuse Program (SAP), an evidence-based addiction treatment initiative, and Supporting Others in Active Recovery (SOAR), which focuses on aftercare and relapse prevention.
"This makes us a little different, sets us aside from everybody else," Hopper said.
The two programs take different approaches to daily structure.
"SAP is in a classroom for eight hours a day, SOAR goes out and works for six hours a day and then comes back in and does two hours of classwork," Hopper said.
Enrollment has grown significantly. When I last spoke with Hopper two years ago, SAP and SOAR had just 28 participants. That number has since grown to 80.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Newly-renovated dorm at Franklin County Jail
Over the past two years, the jail has also become a statewide leader in education, helping women complete their GED.
"Franklin County Regional Jail has had the highest number in the state of GED graduations," Hopper said.
The jail's environment plays a role in that success. A newly renovated dorm — a living space separate from the main jail — opened two years ago and provides a calmer setting for recovery.
"They said they feel relaxed and it's easy to recover from this," Hopper said.
Overall, Hopper said the state of the programs is a source of pride and she hopes it continues to grow.
"We have a waiting list of people that want to come to this jail to be in this program," Hopper said.
Facebook 
TikTok 
YouTube
Instagram
Threads
X