Substance use disorders are complex. Parents who are affected by substance use disorders while also being involved with the child welfare system can benefit from a cross-collaborative team of supportive people and services—such as substance use treatment, education, family court, or recovery coaches and therapists—as they navigate a path to recovery. This section includes guidelines, protocols, and other resources for improving collaboration among substance use treatment providers, child welfare agencies, the courts, and other child- and family-serving systems.
Child Welfare Training Toolkit
National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare
Provides resources to train child welfare workers on how to support families affected by substance use disorders and who are involved with the child welfare system.
Collaborating With Community Agencies To Support Children of Parents With Substance Use Disorders
Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice (2020)
Focuses on ways that schools can partner with other organizations and agencies to address the needs of children who have a parent(s) with a substance use disorder and their families.
A Collaborative Approach to the Treatment of Pregnant Women With Opioid Use Disorders
National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare (2016)
Discusses the effects associated with opioid use by pregnant women, as well as the risks and benefits of medication-assisted treatment, in order to guide states, tribes, and local communities toward best practice approaches.
Collaborative Capacity
National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare
Provides tools that can support professionals working across systems with children and youth affected by parental substance use.
Destination - Successful DEC Alliance
National Alliance for Drug Endangered Children
Provides training on how to create effective partnerships between child welfare professionals, court professionals, medical personnel, and treatment providers serving drug-endangered children.
Family Centered Treatment Services
Children and Family Futures
Focuses on training and technical assistance that help agencies and systems keep a family-centered approach to intervention services.
Infants With Prenatal Substance Exposure and Their Families: Five Points of Family Intervention (PDF - 8,740 KB)
National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare (2020)
Provides examples of policy and practice strategies at each of the intervention points that child welfare, substance use treatment, health-care, and other community agencies can employ to effectively serve this population.
Resources to Support Cross-System Collaboration
National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare
Presents resources and information on cross-system collaboration to support families impacted by substance use who are also involved with the child welfare system.