Focus on Integrating Response, Screening, and Training (FIRST) for Women in Kentucky - The Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE), a national research and evaluation center with expertise in substance use disorder (SUD) and intimate partner violence (IPV) proposes the Focus on Integrating Response, Screening, and Staff Training (FIRST) for Women in Kentucky (KY) to: (1) create a community of practice connected to the KY Coalition Against Domestic Violence (KCADV) and the KY Cabinet for Health and Family Services, branch of Adult Substance Use Treatment and Recovery Services (ASUTRS), (2) implement intersectional, trauma-informed training for each of KY's regional SUD treatment and IPV services providers, utilizing best practices for addressing the intersection of motherhood, IPV, and SUD, and (3) expand IPV and SUD partnerships and workforce to include local medical practitioners. KCADV, which supports KY’s 15 regional IPV service providers, and ASUTRS, which directs the 14 SUD service programs in each region, will provide in-kind services to improve infrastructure and cross-collaboration as well as incentivize service providers. A third partner, Provide Inc. will develop training to decrease provider stigma related to IPV and SUD. Efforts will also integrate SUD and IPV best practices and referral protocols into medical practice by building on ongoing work in the KY Perinatal Quality Collaborative program. The Theory of Social Support underlies our approach; increasing supports for service providers’ as well as reducing provider stigma will enable providers to offer women supports through screening and referral services. Our work will be informed by existing regional collaborative community work groups as well as evidence-based curricula. PIRE’s expertise in both implementation science and community-based evaluation will enable us to implement a robust process and outcomes evaluation and assist each KY region in developing a disparity impact statement to address the intersecting needs of women experiencing violence in their communities.
