Oct. 19 -- GRAND FORKS -- UND has been awarded a $1.5 million grant to lead a national Women, Infants and Children substance use training. The USDA grant, awarded to UND's colleges of nursing and education, aims to enhance perinatal substance use prevention education for WIC staff nationwide, according to a release from UND.

Maridee Shogren, clinical professor and dean of the CNPD, and Rachel Navarro, professor of counseling psychology in CEHD, will will lead a team that includes experts in nursing, social work, nutrition and dietetics, counseling psychology and education.

"We greatly appreciate that the USDA FNS recognizes the importance of this work and the confidence they have shown in UND to provide these training efforts across our nation," Shogren and Navarro said in a joint statement. "Our entire team is dedicated to improving care for families impacted by substance use. Our goals will focus on prevention of perinatal substance use, increasing awareness about perinatal mental health concerns and promoting healthy lifestyles. We can't wait to get to work."

The three-year cooperative agreement will run through September 2027. The training will focus on best practices in addressing substance use and providing referrals for WIC participants, the release said. The UND team will also revise the "Substance Use Prevention Screening, Education and Referral Resource Guide" used by local WIC agencies, as well as create new self-study materials to be used by staff.

The UND team will also work with USDA Food and Nutrition Service national and regional offices to "identify challenges, gaps in knowledge and critical issues faced by WIC staff nationwide," the release said. The team will then develop interactive training events based on the feedback it receives, during which it will train directly with experts in various substance-use-related topics.

The program will build on the existing relationship between UND and the USDA FNS, which began in 2020 with the Don't Quit the Quit program, a support program for pregnant and postpartum people recovering from opioid use disorder. DQTQ was led by Shogren and funded by the Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts.