The University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service (UK CES) conducted Statewide Community Needs Assessments in 2019 and 2023 to identify and prioritize community needs, issues, and/or opportunities that UK CES 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 in 2019, and again in 2023.

Undoubtedly Kentuckians have experienced incredible physical, mental, and financial stressors due to the Overdose Epidemic. In 2024, approximately 1,140 Kentuckians died to drug overdose. Individuals in recovery from substance use disorder (SUD) are particularly susceptible to relapse during the early stages of recovery. This increased risk is due in part to the financial stress that people in SUD recovery often encounter (e.g., debt, poor credit, limited employment opportunities). The existing paradigm for treating addiction has proven woefully inadequate.

To address these complex social 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 was funded by a USDA-NIFA Rural Health Safety Education (RHSE) award (2022-2025). The PROFIT Specialist team includes Dr. Nichole Huff, Assistant Extension Professor for Family Finance and Resource Management (PI); Dr. Alex Elswick, Assistant Extension Professor for Substance Use Prevention and Recovery (Co-PI); Dr. Omolola Adedokun, Assistant Extension Professor for Program Evaluation (Co-PI); Leslie Workman, Extension Specialist for FCS; and Kelly May, Senior Extension Associate for Family Finance and Resource Management.

PROFIT leveraged Extension education to address the Overdose Epidemic in and beyond Kentucky. It included 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 was designed to increase the capacity of Extension educators and community-based professionals (e.g., mental/medical healthcare providers) on factors that mitigate SUD reoccurrence, particularly financial stress.

• Addiction 101 was designed to reduce the stigma often associated with addiction, as well as foster a sense of comfortability in working with addicted and recovering audiences — especially for Extension educators, encouraging 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. RYF was specifically designed to address financial stressors often associated with SUD recovery and recurrence. Upon completion of PROFIT, professionals received 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, aims to increase professional understanding of society’s multiplying cultural differences and offer considerations for working with predominately rural communities.

PROFIT launched as a self-paced course through UK Online in November 2023 (Kentucky) and January 2024 (nationally). Program reach through June 30, 2025, includes 180 participants, 133 of whom completed the course (74%), earning two hours of continuing education credit through the Kentucky Board of Alcohol and Drug Counselors. Participation includes formal licensure agreements with 24 external partners, including Extension programs from Kentucky State University, Penn State University, Virginia Tech, University of Maryland, University of Nevada at Reno, and The Ohio State University, and other state- and community-based organizations such as the Kentucky Department of Reentry and Employment, Voices of Hope, and independent contractors who work with the U.S. Department of Defense. Additionally, 92 University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension personnel have completed PROFIT representing 71 out of 120 counties across the Commonwealth (59%).

Retrospective pre-and post-training evaluation surveys were administered after each major program component of the PROFIT course. Results indicated both statistically and practically significant improvements in participant learning outcomes. Summary findings include:

• Addition 101: Participants demonstrated improvements on all learning outcomes including participants’ understanding of addiction as a chronic disorder, understanding of risk factors for addiction, confidence in delivering education or outreach to people in recovery, etc.  

• Recovering Your Finances: Findings indicate significant improvement in all learning outcomes, with 92% reporting high/very high progress on understanding the financial issues affecting people in recovery and 90% reporting high/very high progress on understanding the financial resources people need in order to sustain recovery. 

• Rural & Cultural Competency Building: Participant reported improvement in all learning outcomes, indicating that the PROFIT training improved their professional competencies to work with rural and culturally diverse audiences, while taking intentional steps to mitigate the impact of their personal biases. 

Three-month follow-up surveys are currently being analyzed to learn more about barriers and facilitators to RYF implementation after completing PROFIT. Further, the PROFIT team has presented 16 times at state (5) and national (11) conferences, webinars, and trainings. National presentations include organizations such as the National Extension Association of Family & Consumer Sciences (NEAFCS), the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR), the Association for Financial Counseling & Planning Education (AFCPE), the National Health Outreach and Engagement Conference (NHOC), and the AgriSafe Network. The team has published two refereed journal articles, with additional manuscripts forthcoming.