Recovery Friendly Workplace Leads the Nation in Developing an Evidence-Based Model Through Participation in NH’s Service to Science Program
In the state of New Hampshire, around 135,000 residents are in recovery from substance use disorder (SUD), and nearly 1 in 2 people are indirectly impacted by SUD. Recovery Friendly Workplace (RFW), an initiative of Governor Sununu and administered by Granite United Way, works with employers to help create a safe and healthy environment where those affected by SUD feel supported. Through participating in the initiative, employers are offered ongoing 1:1 guidance from a Recovery Friendly Advisor, connections to local and statewide resources, training opportunities, and more. In all, the initiative helps workplaces develop safe, supportive cultures where those who’ve been impacted by SUD can access the help they need.
In a survey of participating RFWs, 70% of respondents noted that, as a result of participating in RFW, there was an increase in supervisors’ confidence in knowing how to respond to employee concerns about substance use. Additionally, 44% of respondents reported an increase in workplace morale and satisfaction as a result of participating in RFW. RFW has been so successful in their approach that their model is being replicated in states throughout the country. According to Kristie Curtis, a Recovery Friendly Advisor with RFW, there are around 30 states that participate in RFW’s quarterly Multi-State Community of Practice, which seeks to support other states in starting or further developing their own RFW initiatives.
As RFW has gained traction both in NH and nationally, there has been a desire to ensure that the model RFW is using is effective, rooted in science, and producing positive results. “We want to make sure that what we’re doing is based in science and fact and that it's producing the results we are looking for and match with our strategic plan,” says Curtis.
To aid in this, RFW is undergoing a rigorous process through NH’s Service to Science program to achieve an Evidence-Based status, which supports organizations in articulating their theoretical frameworks, aligning program implementation with desired outcomes, and evaluating program efficacy. Service to Science is offered through the New Hampshire Center for Excellence on Addiction at JSI Research and Training Institute, Inc. Curtis explains, “The [Service to Science] program ensures that everything we are doing can be linked back to cited science as effective,” explains Curtis. “It also shows that we really value looking at the data and seeing ways we can improve the program as it moves forward.”
“Service to Science really provides organizations with the structure and support they need to take a step back and ask, ‘Is our program best set up to see the goals we're trying to achieve?'" says RFW Program Director, Samantha Lewandowski. She adds, “Service to Science really supports an iterative, reflective process wherein program refinements can be made in light of what is discovered through participating in the program, helping ensure we are using the best, most effective model possible.”
Achieving Service to Science’s evidence-based status also requires that participating programs create a manual detailing how they are structured and implemented so that they can be replicated. “You want to prove that it works, especially when it’s being replicated,” explains Curtis.
The Service to Science program offers three tiers of certification, two of which RFW has already received – Innovative Practice (tier 1) and Promising Practice (tier 2). The Evidence-Based designation is the highest and final certification tier in the Service to Science process and signifies, among other things, that the program has made any needed refinements to best align with existing research and program evaluation, as well as has demonstrated meaningful outcomes. In short, evidence-based status means that the program is effective, and, if others were to implement it with fidelity to the established model, they could expect to see similar results (although varying landscapes by state could affect program outcomes).
By being a Promising Practice on the road to becoming an Evidence-Based Practice, RFW is ensuring that they are best supporting workplaces, employees, and families who have been impacted by SUD, in addition to promoting measures that could prevent an SUD from occurring or progressing in severity.
“We want to do what we can to help those with substance use disorder,” explains Curtis. Lewandowski adds, “Granite United Way is a wonderful partner in this effort, as they understand the value of data driving practice, as well as the role strong community partnerships and systems of care play in creating effective, sustainable programming.”