Why a drug treatment tool to protect Missouri kids is underutilized in the St. Louis area

The drug crisis has reached new extremes in many parts of the country, as meth and opioids continue to tear families apart and funnel even more children into an already-strapped foster care system. In rural Montana, law enforcement and communities are trying a new approach to battling drug addiction, focusing on supportive family counseling and "drug courts" to help treat - rather than imprison - those struggling with addiction. In Lake County, Family Drug Treatment Courts are working to divert addicts from the vicious cycle and keep more families together.

Project CARA (Care that Advocates Respect/Resilience/Recovery for All) supports pregnant and parenting people with substance use disorders, providing healthcare, addiction resources and obstetrics care in one spot. The program's hub-and-spokes model makes care more accessible, especially for those in remote areas. Data from the Project also indicates that participants of the program are more likely to attend prenatal and postpartum appointments than those outside of the program.

Keeping families together eases the burden on the foster care system and reduces issues such as homelessness and substance abuse in the long term. Former foster children in Spokane, Washington, end up relying heavily upon other social welfare institutions throughout their lives. To break this cycle, Rising Strong, a program funded largely by a philanthropic contribution, focuses on rebuilding families while addressing behavior issues through an intensive, live-in program.

The Santa Fe Mountain Center uses harm reduction strategies such as needle exchanges and providing naloxone and other supplies for safer drug use, to help those struggling with addiction. These strategies aim to reduce unnecessary harm while building trust to help people enter treatment when they’re ready. In the past year, the Center collected over one million needles, gave out more than 3,000 doses of naloxone and recorded over 700 successful overdose referrals.

Hushabye Nursery cares for babies born withdrawing from addictive substances they were exposed to in the womb. While the babies are receiving care, the Nursery connects parents with addiction treatment, child services and other necessary resources like housing assistance. Since opening its permanent facility in 2020, Hushabye Nursery has cared for more than 400 babies.

Haven House, a faith-based provider of transitional housing for families experiencing homelessness, offers a safe place to live while working to reunite families that face possible loss of child custody over their housing or substance-use status. Required classes in parenting and budgeting, plus job-search services and other classes, have helped more than 370 families over the past decade. Families, who often are referred to the program from the county's Child Protective Services agency, can remain at the house for up to two years if they comply with the rules.

In Kentucky, a parent who is addicted to opioids and is reported to Child Protective Services, can get a second a chance. That’s because a program called START, gives parents the option of getting assigned a mentor that helps addicted parents through their recovery. Research “has shown it has a higher success rate in reuniting families than the traditional child welfare process.”

The rampant opioid epidemic tearing through communities across the United States is exacerbated by a rigid court system that fails to address individual needs and a severe lack of comprehensive treatment options, even for those who want to get clean. Family Treatment Court, like the one in Chautauqua County, N.Y., provides parents who are addicts an innovative intervention program that includes a broad range of custom-tailored services to permanently quit their drug use and keep their families together.

Signs indicate that a recent surge in the number of children entering the foster system is related to the opioid epidemic. Using the power of keeping families in tact as motivation, the Early Intervention Family Drug Court in Sacramento County works with addicted parents to receive comprehensive early addiction intervention in an attempt to prevent their children from being entered into the foster system.

In Vermont, a judge and a family services organization created RapidReferal – a process which offers addicts treatment immediately and has lowered recidivism. Funded by Medicaid, the program has had demonstrable impact, namely, a decrease in recidivism.