The University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service conducted a Statewide Community Needs Assessment in 2023 to identify and prioritize community needs, issues, and/or opportunities that UK the Cooperative Extension System could address through targeted educational programming and engagement efforts. “Support for substance use addiction prevention/recovery” was among the top 15 priority issues reported statewide.

Kentuckians have experienced incredible physical, mental, and financial stressors due to the Overdose Epidemic. In 2022, more than 2,000 Kentuckians died to drug overdose. Individuals in the early stages of recovery from Substance Use Disorder (SUD) are at an increased risk of relapse due in part to the financial stress that people in SUD recovery often encounter (e.g., debt, poor credit, unstable housing, and limited employment opportunities). The existing program models for improving the lives of people in recovery from substance use has proven inadequate.

To address these emerging, complex issues, the University of Kentucky Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) Extension Service developed the program PROFIT: Promoting Recovery Online through Financial Instruction and addiction Training. PROFIT is funded by a USDA-NIFA Rural Health Safety Education (RHSE) award. The team includes Drs. Nichole Huff, Assistant Extension Professor for Family Finance and Resource Management (PI); Alex Elswick, Assistant Extension Professor for Substance Use Prevention and Recovery (Co-PI); Omolola Adedokun, Assistant Extension Professor for Program Evaluation (Co-PI); and Jennifer Hunter, Assistant Extension Director for FCS (Co-PI). Additional grant support is provided by Kelly May, Senior Extension Associate for Family Finance and Resource Management, and Leslie Workman, Extension Specialist for FCS. 

PROFIT leverages Extension education to address the Overdose Epidemic in and beyond Kentucky. It includes two University of Kentucky FCS programs, Addiction 101 and Recovering Your Finances, with additional instruction on Rural & Cultural Competency Building. This two-hour online training is designed to increase the capacity of Extension educators and community-based professionals on factors that mitigate SUD reoccurrence, particularly financial stress.

• Addiction 101 was designed to reduce the stigma often associated with addiction, as well as encourage professionals to discover creative ways to engage with audiences impacted by substance use.
• Recovering Your Finances (RYF) is an eight-session, comprehensive financial education and soft skills curriculum for individuals in early SUD recovery, specifically designed to address financial stressors associated with SUD recovery and recurrence. Upon completion of PROFIT, professionals receive digital access to the full RYF curriculum to use as an educational tool in their work with recovery audiences through a Licensure Agreement with the University of Kentucky.
• The third component, Rural & Cultural Competency Building, increases professional understanding of society’s multiplying cultural differences and offer considerations for working with rural communities.

PROFIT launched in the fall of 2023 with a national rollout following in January 2024. The daily management of information for the PROFIT grant is a highly-orchestrated system that requires consistent monitoring, responsiveness, attention to detail, and creativity. Much effort went into troubleshooting, tracking, and adjusting the systems we designed to make communication and reporting easier. Twice-weekly updating of matriculation information, daily registration of participants, and scheduling evaluation email batches have been just some of responsibilities of the project. The PROFIT Team offered a webinar to agents and created marketing pieces to foster the growth of the program statewide. We have maintained open and direct communication with county Extension staff to help them maximize their planning and program efforts toward PROFIT and work with recovery audiences. We also offered 2 hours KERS in-service credit for those who have completed PROFIT.

PROFIT’s program efforts through June 30, 2024, include 69 graduates including 10 Extension professionals from non-UK institutions. Additionally, 3 individuals from partnering community organizations have graduated. PROFIT has welcomed 9 formal licensure agreements to include recovery institutions in Kentucky as well as 3 universities.  Evaluation efforts are ongoing, with feedback collected immediately upon training, then again at 3- and 6-month post-training intervals. The program is self-paced; enrollment and matriculation will continue through August 31, 2025.