Identifying the availability of recovery housing in the U.S.: The NSTARR project.

BACKGROUND: Home is essential to recovery, and recovery housing can play an important role for individuals seeking a supportive environment. The National Study of Treatment and Addiction Recovery Residences (NSTARR) Project constitutes the largest and most diverse study of recovery housing to date. We describe the development of a national sampling frame to study recovery housing, as well as findings on availability and distribution of recovery housing across the U.S. METHODS: Data from publicly available sources and lists maintained by entities tracking recovery housing were compiled. Residences for which locating information was available were geocoded and linked with U.S. Census data and drug and alcohol mortality data. We used hot spot analysis and multilevel models to describe the geographic distribution of recovery residences and assess whether residences are located in areas of high need. RESULTS: The NSTARR database contains information on 10,358 residences operated by 3628 providers in all 50 states. Residences were more likely (p < 0.05) to be in urban areas and in counties with higher substance use mortality; they were less likely to be in economically disadvantaged areas. Recovery housing density also was greater in urban areas and areas with a greater proportion of non-White residents, but lower in economically disadvantaged areas. CONCLUSIONS: Despite a wealth of research on some types of recovery housing, critical gaps in the field's understanding about the nature of recovery housing remain. The NSTARR Project represents an important first step to expand research on recovery housing across the country.

A Preliminary Study Examining the Validity of Brief Trauma Screening Tools for Young Adolescents in School-Based Health Centers.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: There are very limited brief, validated, open access screening tools for trauma symptoms in adolescent populations. This study aimed to test two brief tools used with adults in primary care settings for use with adolescents. METHODS: Youth (n = 77) completed the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Checklist (PCLC-2), the Primary Care PTSD Screen for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV; PC-PTSD), and the PTSD Reaction Index for DSM-5 (reference tool). Sensitivities and specificities were analyzed. RESULTS: The PCLC-2 and PC-PTSD demonstrated high sensitivity and specificity with adolescents when using lower cutoff scores than those recommended for adults. CONCLUSIONS: The PC-PTSD and PCLC-2 have the potential to be used as brief screens with adolescents. Additional research is needed to further examine their validity with larger, diverse youth samples in primary care and school-based settings.

The role of policy advocacy in assuring comprehensive family life education in California.

As part of their 10-year $60 million Teenage Pregnancy Prevention Initiative, The California Wellness Foundation funded 18 state and local organizations to conduct policy advocacy to strengthen teen pregnancy prevention policies. This article describes how some of these grantees accomplished noteworthy goals, including the passage of the California Comprehensive Sexual Health and HIV/AIDS Prevention Education Act (SB71), the prevention of the state's pursuit of federal "abstinence-only-until-marriage" funding, and the passage of a local school district FLE policy. Grantee progress is presented through a five-stage policy change framework: Institutional Capacity and Leadership Building, Policy Issue Recognition, Policy Prioritization, Policy Adoption, and Policy Maintenance. Implications are shared for advocates, policy makers, and funders who are developing initiatives aimed at improving the health of adolescents.