Nancy K. Young, Ph.D., Director National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare Children and Family Futures 4940 Irvine Boulevard, Suite 202 Irvine, CA Fax Children’s Bureau Permanency Partnership Forum VII May 19 to 21, 2003 Permanency Outcomes for Children Affected by Substance Abuse

Work Shop Overview NCSACW Scope of Issue Policy Tools for Solutions Models of Changed Practice Issues for Children Models of Family Drug Courts

Developing Knowledge and Providing Technical Assistance to Federal, State, Local Agencies and Tribes to Better Serve Families with Substance Use Disorders in the Child Welfare and Family Court Systems and the Administration on Children, Youth and Families Children’s Bureau Office on Child Abuse and Neglect A Program of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Center for Substance Abuse Treatment

NCSACW's goal To promote effective practice, organizational, and system changes at the local, state, and national levels by –Developing and implementing a comprehensive program of information gathering and dissemination –Providing technical assistance

A Consortium Approach  Children and Family Futures - implementing the NCSACW under contract with CSAT and ACYF  CWLA – Child Welfare League of America  NASADAD – National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors  NCJFCJ – National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges  APHSA – American Public Human Services Association  NICWA – National Indian Child Welfare Association

Tasks Conduct Marketing and Public Awareness Conduct Marketing and Public Awareness Collection and Dissemination of Information Collection and Dissemination of Information Develop Materials Develop Materials Develop Web-based Access to Information and Tutorials Develop Web-based Access to Information and Tutorials Conduct Conferences and Meetings Conduct Conferences and Meetings Provide Technical Assistance Provide Technical Assistance

By inverting the cliché, it communicates that we can only see what we are prepared to see Child abuse was “discovered” when, doctors added social workers to their teams Until then, doctors didn’t allow the possibility that parents were hurting their kids because they didn’t know what to do next “Believing is seeing” Diane L. Coutu, “Sense and reality: A conversation with celebrated psychologist Karl E. Weick,” Harvard Business Review. April pp

Social workers said, “Sure, child abuse happens, and we know how to handle it by providing child protective services” At that point the physician teams could afford to see child abuse, because then they knew how to deal with it. The greater the repertoire of responses you have on your team, the more things you can do. The Power of Teams

Only when social workers really connect with substance abuse counselors do they “know what to do next” when alcohol and other drugs are a part of the problem Then they can, as Weick puts it, “afford to see” substance abuse, because they have a response to it

Only when substance abuse counselors connect with child development and family services workers do they have a sense of the full force of family dynamics in helping parents recover And only when family support staff connect with income support workers do they know what to do next when poverty is a part of the problem The Power of Teams

CHILDREN PATHS OF EXPOSURE FAMILY COMMUNITY MEDIA ENVIRONMENTAL IN UTERO PERSONAL USE Paths of a Child’s Exposure to Alcohol and Other Drugs LEGAL Alcohol Tobacco Prescription Drugs ILLEGAL Underage Alcohol and Tobacco Illicit Use of Prescriptions Restricted Drugs

Impact of AOD on Children  The Two Most Significant Risks to Children of Substance Users:  They Have Poorer Developmental Outcomes  They Are at High Risk of Substance Abuse Themselves 1  Children of Substance Abusers Exhibit Depression and Anxiety More Often Than Children from Non-addicted Families 2 1. Department of Health and Human Services, Blending Perspectives and Building Common Ground, April National Association for Children of Alcoholics, Children of Addicted Parents: Important Facts,

National Estimates of Children Living With At Least One Substance Abusing Parent In Millions

COSAs and Child Abuse/Neglect Victims Millions % and 32% Substantiated *Child Maltreatment 2001

California Parents Entering Publicly- Funded Substance Abuse Treatment Had a Child under age % Had a Child Removed by CPS 24.5% If a Child was Removed, Lost Parental Rights 36.9% –Treated in Outpatient32.5% –Treated in Residential44.7% –Treated with Methadone73.6%

Key Barriers Between Substance Abuse, Child Welfare and The Courts Beliefs and Values Competing Priorities Treatment Gap Information Systems Staff Knowledge and Skills Lack of Communication Different Mandates

 TANF – Welfare 24 Months; 60 Months The Five Clocks  ASFA - Child Welfare  Permanent Plan at 12 Months  File for TPR if in Out-of-Home Care 15 out of 22 Months, Can File TPR if Abandoned  Recovery - Lifetime Process, One Day at a Time  Child Development

 Underlying Values  Daily Practice-Screening and Assessment  Daily Practice-Client Engagement and Retention in Care  Daily Practice-AOD Services to Children  Joint Accountability and Shared Outcomes  Information Sharing & MIS  Training/Staff Development  Budgeting/Program Sustainability  Building Community Supports  Working with Related Agencies and Support Systems From CSAT Technical Assistance Publication (TAP) 27: Navigating the Pathways *Revised March 2003 How to Connect the AOD, CWS, Court Systems: Elements of System Linkages *

Policy Tools  Development of Policy Tools to Facilitate Collaborative Work Across Systems  Collaborative Values Inventory  Collaborative Capacity Instrument  Matrix of Progress in Linking Substance Abuse and Child Welfare Services

Key CFSR Outcomes with Implications for Substance Abusing Families Families Have Enhanced Capacity to Provide for Their Children’s Needs Children Receive Appropriate Services to Meet Their Educational Needs Children Receive Adequate Services to Meet Their Physical and Mental Health Needs

Families Have Enhanced Capacity to Provide for Their Children’s Needs Improved Screening and Assessment Protocols and Effective Communication Paths Across Systems –Standardized Screening Tools –Partnering for AOD Expertise –Standardized Monitoring & Reporting Tool –Joint Case Planning

Families Have Enhanced Capacity to Provide for Their Children’s Needs Engaging and Retaining Parents in Care –Use of Motivational Interviewing and Stages of Change –Use of Persons in Recovery as Members with Family Team –Use of Substance Abuse Staff to Increase Recovery Management –Increased Judicial Oversight –Preserving Relationships with Birth Parents Regardless of Type of Permanency Outcome

Models of Changed Practice  Workers out-stationed in collaborative settings  Increased case management and monitoring of recovery progress  New methods and protocols on sharing information  Increased judicial oversight and family drug treatment courts  New priorities for treatment access for child welfare-involved families  New safe and sober housing initiatives

Children Receive Appropriate Services to Meet Their Educational, Physical and Mental Health Needs Services for Children and Families Based on Developmental Stages –Prenatal and BirthPrimary Health Care –InfantsBonding and Attachment –ToddlersDevelopmental Interventions –School ReadinessLanguage, LD and Behavior –LatencyCOSA Group Interventions –Pre-AdolescentTargeted Prevention –AdolescenceIntervention & Treatment –Transition to AdulthoodCOSA Coping and Life Skills

Children’s Service Models Define At Risk Births –Primary Care 4 Ps – Parents, Partner, Past, Pregnancy –Hawaii Healthy Start Risk Factors Developmental Screening Early Childhood Education –Free to Grow – RWJ Program –Starting Early Starting Smart - SAMHSA Parent Training –Nurturing Parents – Institute for Health & Recovery - Boston

Children’s Service Models Children of Substance Abusers –The 7 C’s – NACOA.ORG I didn’t Cause it I can’t Cure it I can’t Control it I can Care for myself by Communicating my feelings Making healthy Choices And by Celebrating myself

Integrated – Santa Clara –Both dependency matters and recovery management conducted in the same court with the same judicial officer Models of Family Treatment Courts

Dual Track – San Diego –Dependency matters and recovery management conducted in same court with same judicial officer during initial phase –If parent is noncompliant with court orders, parent may be offered DDC participation and case may be transferred to a specialized judicial officer who increases monitoring of compliance and manages only the recovery aspects of the case Models of Family Treatment Courts

Parallel - Sacramento –Dependency matters are heard on a regular family court docket –Specialized court services offered before noncompliance occurs –Compliance reviews and recovery management heard by a specialized court officer Models of Family Treatment Courts

Significantly Less Criminal & CPS Recidivism Among FDTC Parents in Five Sites Percent of Parents in 18 Months *p<.05

Average Days to Permanency Sacramento County Dependency Drug Court p<.001 n=90n=146

Nancy & Sid’s Top 10 List for Foster and Adoptive Parents* 1.Keep a journal of everything 2.Get on the wait list for the best services in town 3.Live on the internet with other parents 4.To ask “can he understand” after being told he can hear 5.Be prepared to have a 3 rd or 4 th job— case management—we are their best advocates and know them better than any professional *Personal Experience not NCSACW

6.Knowing the mental health diagnoses of birth parents is critical 7.Children of bi-polar parents with ADHD symptoms should be treated as bi-polar 8.Schools will usually first say No, hire an advocate for I.E.P. 9.Know that adopted kids have a “hole in their heart” 10.Take time for yourselves—don’t mortgage your marriage Nancy & Sid’s Top 10 List

The Most Important Clock  The Clock that is Ticking on Us  How long do we have to act if our families have 24 months to work and 12 months to reunify?  Taking this clock seriously means that we build the needed bridges between systems with a sense of urgency and a timetable that start now