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Helping the Whole Family Affected by Substance Abuse
It’s clear that drug abuse wrecks the life of the drug abuser. It might be less obvious that substance abuse often uproots children who end up in foster care as a result. A young woman who’s interning in my office this summer was one of those children.
When Taatianna turned three, she opened the front door of her home to a caseworker who removed her and her two siblings because of their parents’ substance abuse. She was placed in foster care at a very young age. Fortunately, Taatianna and her siblings were able to live together and be raised by their grandmother. Taatianna has done very well, but she and her siblings always wanted to be with their mom and dad again, hoping their parents could get clean, hold a job, and take care of their children as a family. Unfortunately, Taatianna’s mother struggled, and continues to struggle, with addiction.
Maybe this family could have stayed together, had the parents been able to get the right treatment and support for their substance abuse problems.
Grass-roots operations in Iowa and across the country are working hard to build a family component into substance abuse treatment programs. These community groups are forming innovative regional partnerships to prevent and minimize the children’s time in foster care and help parents get needed treatment so families can be reunited whenever possible. They take a comprehensive approach that involves parenting skills training, child and family counseling, mental health services, and early intervention and preventive services.
The success stories are inspiring. A father named “Will” described himself in the Storm Lake, Iowa, Pilot Tribune newspaper as a “garbage can” for 15 years who would try any kind of drug or alcohol. A single parent, Will lost his young son to family members. Under an intensive treatment program, Will overcame his substance abuse, got a job he likes, and is restoring his relationships with his son and family.
A key part of Will’s treatment, according to the newspaper, was the Parent Partner Program administered by Upper Des Moines Opportunity Inc. in nine counties in rural northwest Iowa. This program primarily assists individuals addicted to methamphetamine and matches parents to partners who serve as mentors, assisting clients in navigating the child welfare and substance abuse treatment systems. The parent partner understands the client’s situation, allowing the parent to build trust with the goal of regaining custody of his or her children more quickly.
Legislation that I got enacted in 2006 set up a federal grant program to help support these innovative, family-based regional partnerships for parents and children affected by substance abuse. The authorization for the grant program is expiring, so this week, I introduced legislation to extend the authorization for the grant program.
The measure is meant to prevent the substance abuse and dissolution of families that have a very great cost to society and state and federal treasuries over time. Children who come from families with substance abuse are in danger of repeating the behavior, so breaking the cycle is important. Through grass-roots partnerships, we can reduce the time children spend in foster care and ensure that parents are provided the treatment needed to keep the family together.
It’s clear that drug abuse wrecks the life of the drug abuser. It might be less obvious that substance abuse often uproots children who end up in foster care as a result. A young woman who’s interning in my office this summer was one of those children.
When Taatianna turned three, she opened the front door of her home to a caseworker who removed her and her two siblings because of their parents’ substance abuse. She was placed in foster care at a very young age. Fortunately, Taatianna and her siblings were able to live together and be raised by their grandmother. Taatianna has done very well, but she and her siblings always wanted to be with their mom and dad again, hoping their parents could get clean, hold a job, and take care of their children as a family. Unfortunately, Taatianna’s mother struggled, and continues to struggle, with addiction.
Maybe this family could have stayed together, had the parents been able to get the right treatment and support for their substance abuse problems.
Grass-roots operations in Iowa and across the country are working hard to build a family component into substance abuse treatment programs. These community groups are forming innovative regional partnerships to prevent and minimize the children’s time in foster care and help parents get needed treatment so families can be reunited whenever possible. They take a comprehensive approach that involves parenting skills training, child and family counseling, mental health services, and early intervention and preventive services.
The success stories are inspiring. A father named “Will” described himself in the Storm Lake, Iowa, Pilot Tribune newspaper as a “garbage can” for 15 years who would try any kind of drug or alcohol. A single parent, Will lost his young son to family members. Under an intensive treatment program, Will overcame his substance abuse, got a job he likes, and is restoring his relationships with his son and family.
A key part of Will’s treatment, according to the newspaper, was the Parent Partner Program administered by Upper Des Moines Opportunity Inc. in nine counties in rural northwest Iowa. This program primarily assists individuals addicted to methamphetamine and matches parents to partners who serve as mentors, assisting clients in navigating the child welfare and substance abuse treatment systems. The parent partner understands the client’s situation, allowing the parent to build trust with the goal of regaining custody of his or her children more quickly.
Legislation that I got enacted in 2006 set up a federal grant program to help support these innovative, family-based regional partnerships for parents and children affected by substance abuse. The authorization for the grant program is expiring, so this week, I introduced legislation to extend the authorization for the grant program.
The measure is meant to prevent the substance abuse and dissolution of families that have a very great cost to society and state and federal treasuries over time. Children who come from families with substance abuse are in danger of repeating the behavior, so breaking the cycle is important. Through grass-roots partnerships, we can reduce the time children spend in foster care and ensure that parents are provided the treatment needed to keep the family together.
Friday, June 24, 2011