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In the United States, the rising prevalence of opioid addiction has led to an increase in opioid-related overdose deaths and transmission of infectious disease. This resulted in the declaration of a national public health emergency and the need for harm reduction strategies such as syringe exchange. Florida has seen increases in blood-borne diseases and fatal/nonfatal opioid overdoses, yet harm reduction policy integration has been historically limited. To inform policy change, this study explores the perspectives of community members in Manatee County, Florida, on harm reduction services. Six focus groups were conducted with findings centralized around three emergent themes related to the implementation of a syringe exchange program: (a) awareness and acceptability; (b) facilitating factors; and (c) perceived barriers. The results of this qualitative research helped to inform the successful adoption of a local syringe exchange ordinance. Recommendations for community education and engagement regarding harm reduction policy are discussed.

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Real-world application and implementation of evidence-based practice continue to be a challenge across multiple sectors, including behavioral health settings. Providing the opportunity for future researchers and practitioners to gain capacity and knowledge through structured experiential learning in implementation science is critical to closing the research to practice gap. The Institute for Translational Research Education in Adolescent Drug Abuse (ITRE) is a graduate certificate program that offers specific coursework, a large-scale service-learning project based in the community, and mentorship related to implementation science research and practice. The purpose of this evaluation was to examine, from the perspective of ITRE scholars, the perceived impact on the development of professional research and practice skills once graduated from the ITRE program. Fifty-eight semi-structured interviews across five cohorts were selected randomly for in-depth thematic analysis (n = 58). Results suggest that the ITRE provides a unique approach grounded in implementation science for building robust and transferable skills for future researchers and practitioners working in a variety of behavioral healthcare settings.

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Due to the significant prevalence of mental and substance use disorders in the United States, the push for the development and implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs) in behavioral health has risen exponentially in the last 30 years. Community-based organizations (CBOs) (i.e., self-governing and/or not-for-profit) have been recognized as important providers of behavioral health services. However, there are gaps in the literature surrounding CBO implementation capacity-ability to adopt, implement, and sustain an EBP-and capacity training initiatives (e.g., training in data-based decision-making) that specifically target CBOs and implementation practice. The purpose of this exploratory study was to assess how individuals working within Florida CBOs conceptualize implementation practice capacity and what is needed to reach adequate capacity to utilize an EBP. This qualitative study consisted of semi-structured interviews with eight administrators and nine practitioners currently employed by CBOs who deliver evidence-based behavioral health services (N = 17). Results showed certain implementation practice characteristics such as leadership, culture/climate, collaboration/communication, data-based decision-making and evaluation, and funding were all important areas of implementation practice capacity. Implications for future research focused on conceptualizing and building implementation practice capacity within the context of community behavioral health settings will be discussed.

Justice‐involved adolescents (JIA) are at higher risk for opioid misuse (OM) and opioid‐related overdose than nonoffending adolescents. Untreated OM can lead to severe consequences (e.g., trauma), which may be harsher for female JIA. Therefore, examining risk and protective factors, such as parental supervision, is essential to identify factors that may impact OM. The current study used a statewide, cross‐sectional dataset including 79,960 JIA from the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice. Stratified logistic regression analyses were conducted. Results indicated that JIA who experienced sporadic or inadequate supervision had 2.14 and 3.54 higher odds, respectively, of misusing opioids compared to JIA who experienced consistent supervision. Female JIA who experienced sporadic or inadequate supervision had 2.23 and 3.70 higher odds, respectively, of misusing opioids. Results suggest parental supervision is an important protective factor that should be considered in developing prevention and treatment efforts that serve JIA who misuse opioids, especially females.