Casey Family Programs – 2017
This issue brief begins by noting parental substance abuse was cited as a factor in more than one-third of the cases in which a child was removed from home in 2015, the importance of family reunification, and the tension between federal requirements that children achieve permanency within 15 months of their 22 months in care and the patience needed for recovering parents to engage in services and prepare to safely care for their children. Strategies are then discussed for helping families with substance use disorders reunite, including strategies for parent engagement and early access to treatment, providing encouragement and frequent feedback, treating the whole family, treating recovery as a process and not an event, providing matched, sequenced services, setting parents up for success, and integrating services through interagency collaboration. 14 references.