NEW YORK (July 20, 2021) — It is estimated that one in eight (8.7 million) children ages 17 or younger in the US lived in households with at least one parent who had substance abuse disorder in the past year, putting these vulnerable children at greater risk of themselves developing a substance abuse disorder.
Recognizing the urgent need for a comprehensive approaches to opioid use disorder that address the needs of the entire family, the Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts is seeking to fund projects focused on Engaging and Empowering Vulnerable Families and Communities to Prevent Opioid Use Disorder and Overdose.
“With over 93,000 deaths from opioid overdose last year, the US is in the grips of an opioid crisis that is devastating families leaving increased numbers of children in the foster care system or living in poverty,” says Dr. Karen Scott, President of FORE. “Since we know that most substance use starts in adolescence, we must engage and support children and families that are most vulnerable, including those with a parent or other family member with opioid use disorder, those in which family members have been separated for a time, and those in very low-income communities.”
Since 2020, FORE has provided $13 million in funding for 44 projects to promote access to care, support recovery programs, explore the most innovative solutions to the opioid crisis, and respond to the acceleration in opioid disorder and overdose engendered by the pandemic. FORE’s latest Request for Proposals will provide grant support for projects that aim to improve or expand, evidence-based family, school, or community-based prevention services for children and families, particularly for those at highest risk.
The focus will be on projects in the following three areas which, based on discussions with experts in the field, are needed to improve prevention efforts in communities nationwide:
- Mitigating the Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences
- Developing Models for Racial and Cultural Minorities and Addressing Inequities
- Addressing and Managing Pain, Emotional Distress, and Trauma
Applicants may apply for up to $500,000 a year for three years. For more details go to: Apply for a Grant.
Implementing Family-Focused Initiatives in Primary Care Settings
“To help find solutions for the devastastating impact of opioid use disorder on individuals, children and families, FORE is providing support to the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) to develop and conduct a two-day national workshop to examine evidence-based, family-focused prevention interventions that have been used to address opioid and substance use disorders in primary health care settings and explore barriers and solutions to broaden implementation and address disparities in access. The workshop to be held next year in Washington DC, will bring together a diverse group of nationally recognized leaders and stakeholders, including parent and family groups from across the country.
The project will be led by Natacha Blain, JD, PhD, Senior Board Director of the National Academies Board on Children, Youth and Families (BCYF) in collaboration with its Forum for Children's Well-Being.
“We believe there are opportunities to expand the evidence base of what really works, target attention and program development to highly vulnerable families, lift up current models which have shown positive outcomes, and determine how to implement and sustain them in more communities,” Dr. Scott says. “Our goal is to provide reference points for local, state, and federal policymakers on how to effectively ‘get what works’ to many more families.”
ABOUT FORE
The Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts (FORE) was founded in 2018 as a private 501(c)(3) national, grant-making foundation focused on addressing the nation’s opioid crisis. FORE is committed to funding a diversity of projects contributing solutions to the crisis at national, state, and community levels. FORE’s mission is to support partners advancing patient-centered, innovative, evidence-based solutions impacting people experiencing opioid use disorder, their families, and their communities. Through convening, grantmaking and developing informational resources, FORE seeks to bring about long-term change. To date, FORE has awarded 43 grants totaling $12.8 million.
Focusing on Solutions to the US Opioid Crisis the Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts (FORE) Announces Family-Based Initiatives to Prevent Substance Abuse in Teenagers
Issues New Request for Proposals to Fund Projects that Engage and Empower Vulnerable Families to Prevent Opioid Use Disorder and Overdose
Awards Grant to National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) to Study Family-Focused Interventions in Primary Care Settings