Collectively, Randolph County Opioid-Drug Community Collaborative's prevention/connect to care workgroup is developing a recovery friendly workplace initiative utilizing evidence-based models employed by other states and organizations.  Recovery friendly workplace programs often include stigma reduction, assessing policies for supportive measures, partnering with human resources teams to enhance programs for employees, and encouraging development of recovery-oriented teams.  Building on the success of other federal/state agencies and nonprofit organizations, the partners have assessed the current landscape of recovery friendly employers in Randolph County through a survey.  Identifying employers who have been successful, the workgroup is collaborating to learn what has contributed to their success and additional resources/supports they may need to strengthen their results.  Through a phased approach, the workgroup is building a recovery friendly workplace program addressing varying levels of support for employees.

Recovery Friendly Workplace Programs

Recovery Ready Workplace

The Recovery Friendly Workplace initiative seeks to serve Randolph County-based employers and residents with substance use disorders.

As employers adopt recovery friendly workplace policies, procedures, and supports, the workgroup expects a decrease in turnover among participating employers related to substance use disorders.  Additionally, an increase in confidence among employers in their ability to support employees is expected.  Among employees, increase in those seeking support from employers is expected.

The Randolph County Opioid-Drug Community Collaborative developed three workgroups aligning with the NC Opioid Substance Use Action Plan – prevention, harm reduction, and connect to care. As the 2022 Community Health Assessment committee selected substance use disorders as a priority, the workgroups participated in five facilitated, Results-Based Accountability strategic planning sessions from September 2022 – to February 2023. The workgroups created a results statement they seek to achieve. It reads, “All individuals in Randolph County affected by substance use disorders and mental health conditions are healthy, safe, and free of stigma”. The workgroups selected several strategies to focus their collective effort.

These included:

• Advocate for recovery-friendly workplace policies with local employers (e.g., fair chance hiring, recovery support)
• Reduce barriers to naloxone access through distribution and training on how to administer

Randolph County Adult Day Reporting Center, a county agency providing counseling and support services for adults with behavior health/substance use disorders and involved with the justice system, serves as the coordinator of the connect to care workgroup. Insight Human Services, a behavioral health and prevention services provider, serves as the coordinator of the prevention workgroup. As the two workgroups identified recovery friendly workplaces (RFW) as a primary strategy to focus their efforts, the workgroups merged their meetings and have been planning together. To prepare for program planning and implementation, the workgroup coordinators participated in RFW webinars and conferences. A Randolph County Commissioner facilitated a meeting in September 2023 with local community college, university, and chamber of commerce representatives to discuss the initiative and assess the best ways to engage employers. Workgroups resumed program planning/implementation meetings in late 2023. 

There is no data to be collected at this time. As part of action plans, community partners intend to report this data for FY2023-24.

The Connect to Care and Prevention workgroups resumed meetings in late 2023 and developed an action plan for the RFW project. The workgroups researched RFW initiatives in North Carolina and other states to identify best practices to incorporate into the RFW project. In February 2024, the workgroups held a Recovery Friendly Workplace interest meeting for employers with Recovery Friendly NC. To guide development of the RFW program and toolkit, they surveyed employers who attended the interest meeting to understand what information and tools employers would find helpful to implement an RFW program. The workgroups also identified employers interested in joining the pilot program, to review and provide feedback on the toolkit and other materials. Five employers spanning manufacturing and healthcare industries joined the pilot program. 

The workgroups have meet each month to collaborate on the toolkit. They prioritized four content areas based on the employer survey results:  Education, Practices and Procedures, Assessment and Quality Improvement, and Legal Considerations. As of September 2024, the workgroups are planning the first focus group with employers to review the toolkit.  

Action Plan