News & Updates — FORE Announcements

FORE today announced $1,341,000 in grants to two organizations that are helping to close gaps in the continuum of services for children and adolescents affected by substance use.

The grants are part of a broader FORE initiative to expand access to prevention, treatment, and harm reduction services for young people who are adversely affected by a parent’s substance use or are themselves at risk of developing an opioid use disorder (OUD) or experiencing an overdose due to accidental or intentional exposure to opioids. The projects advance two strategic objectives for the foundation: reversing significant increases in overdoses among adolescents exposed to fentanyl and spreading effective programs to support families with a parent or caregiver with a substance use disorder.

“Our newest grantees are developing tools that will empower families and enable health care providers to help protect youth from the increasing toxicity of the illicit drug supply and the challenges associated with living with a parent with a substance use disorder,” said Karen A. Scott, MD, MPH, President of FORE.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in Itasca, Illinois, is receiving $500,000 to develop and disseminate educational tools that enhance the capacity of clinicians to prevent, identify, and treat substance use among adolescents and young adults. As part of the project, the AAP will create a Pathways to Resilience Toolkit that offers practical strategies for engaging youth in conversations about OUD and the risks of overdose from experimental or incidental drug use. It will also offer clinicians guidance on age-appropriate prevention, harm reduction, and treatment strategies. To promote uptake, the AAP will engage at least 120 pediatricians across six AAP State Chapters in a quality improvement learning collaborative that focuses on increasing screening rates and referrals to treatment for substance use disorders. Both efforts will be guided by an advisory group that includes adolescents and young adults, pediatricians, and staff from school-based clinics among others.

The Sesame Workshop, in New York, New York, is receiving $841,000 to expand its Parental Addiction Initiative, which uses storybooks, video, and interactive digital activities featuring the Muppet Karli to help children affected by parental substance use understand addiction and discuss how it affects them. As part of the project, the Sesame Workshop will partner with the Morgan County Partnership and Denver Health, two other FORE grantees, and All Rise, the organization previously known as the National Association of Drug Court Professionals, to develop tools that strengthen nurturing connections between adults and children throughout a parent’s recovery. The content, which aims to reduce the negative effects of trauma and promote positive childhood development, will be disseminated through partnerships with national and community-based organizations and direct service providers. It will also be available to families via a website and social media platforms.