2 - (SYM 46) Building Capacity for Evidence-based Behavioral Parent Training in West Virginia During the Opioid Epidemic and COVID-19 Pandemic

West Virginia (WV) has been deemed the epicenter of the opioid crisis with an overdose rate 3 times greater than the national average (CDC, 2021). Furthermore, WV is ranked among the highest in the nation for rates of child abuse, neglect, and foster care entries (US Administration for Children and Families, 2022). This is compounded by the increased risk for child abuse and limited access to mental health services brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic (Hirko et al., 2020; Rodriguez et al., 2021). Children of parents who misuse substances are more likely to experience maltreatment, neglect, and separation from caregivers (Barnard & McKeganey, 2004). The COVID-19 pandemic and the opioid crisis have elucidated the clear need for evidence-based interventions to be disseminated to families in WV. Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) is a behavioral parent training program that was originally developed to reduce child behavior problems by strengthening the caregiver-child relationship and providing families with effective behavior management skills (McNeil & Hembree-Kigin, 2010). PCIT is highly effective in reducing disruptive behavior, parenting stress, and child abuse risk (Thomas et al., 2017), thus it is well suited to address the child behavioral problems secondary to the opioid crisis in WV.

The current presentation will detail the efforts to disseminate and implement PCIT with opioid-impacted families across WV during the COVID-19 pandemic via a 5-year State Opioid Response Medical Services Grant. This grant aimed to (1) increase the availability of PCIT in WV by training mental health professionals to deliver this intervention to families in their respective regions, and to (2) maintain the sustainability of PCIT services by training therapists to become certified trainers of the intervention to teach PCIT to other providers in their agencies. This included training 74 providers through over 400 hours of training and 175 hours of consultation to provide PCIT to all 55 counties in WV. We conducted follow up interviews with 34 of the trainees to evaluate the effectiveness of training, PCIT treatment, and their intent to continue providing PCIT services. To discuss the role of the COVID-19 pandemic on treatment, qualitative findings related to the impact of telehealth in a state plagued by poor internet capacity and financial challenges will also be described. This presentation will also describe the specific applications of PCIT, including considerations for rural families, kinship caregivers, and caregivers recovering from substance use.