Working with Drug-Affected Families
An overwhelming number of the families that child welfare agencies see are affected by drugs and alcohol. Agency workers often do not have the resources or the expertise to respond effectively to the resulting prob- lems. Children from these families are placed in foster care at alarming rates, as workers often feel no hope of keeping the families together safely.
What is "Working with Drug-Affected Families"?
This tool is a three-day workshop on enhancing parents' motivation and prevent-ing drug relapse. With safety of children as a primary focus, the workers learn to help people who are reluctant and ambivalent about modifying their behaviors, and how to support those people through the change process.
How was this tool applied in Family to Family?
The training has been provided for START workers in Ohio and New Mexico, and is scheduled in Maryland.
What did we learn from these applications?
Workers appreciate learning new skills for helping drug-affected families. They report more success in engaging people, feeling hopeful, and in facilitating behavior change.
What you need to get started:
Those interested should order the manual and discuss it with their trainers and/or supervisors. They should assess their own readiness to lead the training and, if they feel they need help, they should call the consultants listed below.
What you need for full implementation:
Training of trainers and a well-developed evaluation plan are necessary to deliver training throughout a large agency or system.
How to find out more:
resources, examples, references:
The manual and materials can be ordered from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, 410.547.6600. Consultants available for training include Jill Kinney 253.927.7547, and Kathy Strand 253.627.3533. Deborah Gibbs 919.541.6942 is available for help with evaluation.