Substance Use Disorders and Cross-System Collaboration

Children and families served by one human services system are often served by another—child welfare, substance use disorder treatment, education, family court, or juvenile justice—and coordinating services is important in order to improve outcomes. Find guidelines, protocols, and other resources for improving collaboration among the substance abuse, child welfare, courts, and other child- and family-serving systems.

Bringing Families Together: Models of Hope and Recovery [Video]
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare (2011)
Describes a framework that can be utilized to overcome barriers and identify strategies to support the development of cross-system collaboration in substance use and child welfare services.

A Collaborative Approach to the Treatment of Pregnant Women with Opioid Use Disorders
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare (NCSACW) (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 Practice
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 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 (2019)
Provides training on how to create effective partnerships between child welfare professionals, court professionals, medical personnel, and treatment providers serving drug-endangered children through the implementation button on the roadmap to success.

Developing a Coordinated Response to Families Affected by Substance Use Disorders [Webinar]
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare (2015)
Offers examples of collaborative practice at the "front-end" of child welfare practice (e.g., intake and investigation) to better serve families affected by substance use disorders. The presenters share lessons learned from collaborative site examples.

Helping Children Affected by Adult Opioid Abuse (PDF - 545 KB)
Quality Improvement Center for Research-Based Infant-Toddler Court Teams (2018)
Focuses on improving community engagement and a systems-change approach and how related child-serving organizations work together, share information, and expedite services for young children in the system as a result of parental opioid abuse.

Regional Partnership Grants to Increase the Well-being of, and to Improve the Permanency Outcomes for, Children Affected by Substance Abuse: Highlights of Grantee Implementation: Executive Summary (PDF - 488 KB)
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children's Bureau (2017)
Discusses the successes, challenges, and identified solutions from grantees providing services to increase the permanency of children with substance-abusing parents.