This cooperative agreement Center application, the Kentucky TRIALS Substance Abuse and HIV Research Center (KY-TRIALS), is submitted by the University of Kentucky in cooperation with the Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice, community substance abuse service organizations, and HIV service providers to respond to RFA-DA-13-009, Translational Research on Interventions for Adolescents in the Legal System: TRIALS. This project focuses on filling the need for implementation studies to enhance continuity of care for juvenile justice Involved adolescents. Kentucky provides an ideal setting to study the implementation of evidence-based practices because of our longstanding Juvenile Justice and university relationship. KY-TRIALS is well-positioned to conduct rigorous research on implementing evidence-based practices. The Overall Aim of the KY-TRIALS Substance Abuse and HIV Research Center is to collaborate in developing and testing implementation strategies and associated measures to improve the continuum of substance abuse and HIV prevention and treatment services for youth under juvenile justice supervision. The KY-TRIALS approach Incorporates theoretical frameworks of implementation science (Proctor et. al., 2009; Aarons et al., 2011) and organizational change to examine how evidence-based practices are implemented into practice in organizational settings. Our conceptual approach draws upon our experience in implementation science and previous cooperative studies to carry out the KY-TRIALS research center vision and research. This application presents 4 proven and partner-rich Center Committees: 1) Design and Measures, 2) Study Implementation, 3) Data Management and Analysis, and 4) Publications for achieving success in the aims of TRIALS in concert with our KY-TRIALS Center Steering Committee, the national TRIALS Steering Committee, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Letters of commitment include our state's Juvenile Justice Commissioner; Acting Director of the Division of Behavioral Health; Executive Director of the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy; juvenile justice officials; and community substance abuse and HIV service providers to support our innovative vision.
The Overall Aim of the KY-TRIALS Substance Abuse and HIV Research Center is to collaborate in developing and testing implementation strategies and associated measures to Improve the continuum of substance abuse and HIV prevention and treatment services delivered to youth under juvenile justice supervision. The KY-TRIALS Center has the potential to make a significant contribution to an understudied area by providing knowledge on adolescent assessment for substance abuse disorders and HIV, community implementation science and theory, juvenile justice, and evidence-based practices. Successful completion of the KY-TRIALS cooperative agreement will provide essential information to add significant new and groundbreaking knowledge about implementation science and to improve the continuity of care for adolescents involved in juvenile justice.
