{"id":401,"date":"2021-11-30T15:41:28","date_gmt":"2021-11-30T16:41:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jaguarviber.com\/?p=401"},"modified":"2022-12-26T15:05:48","modified_gmt":"2022-12-26T15:05:48","slug":"substance-use-is-driving-children-into-foster-care-heres-what-we-can-do-about-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jaguarviber.com\/index.php\/2021\/11\/30\/substance-use-is-driving-children-into-foster-care-heres-what-we-can-do-about-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Substance Use is Driving Children into Foster Care. Here\u2019s What We Can Do About It."},"content":{"rendered":"

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If you need more evidence that substance use has a long-lasting and far-reaching impact, consider this heartbreaking data: The ongoing escalation of opioid use is driving a surge in children and youth entering foster care systems across the nation.<\/p>\n

Even before COVID-19 upended global health, North Carolina\u2019s foster care system was already experiencing \u201crecord levels of need<\/a>\u201d driven largely by opioid use. During the 2017-18 fiscal year, parental substance abuse was the primary reason children were removed from the household in nearly 40% of the cases.<\/p>\n

In the wake of the pandemic, substance use has risen sharply<\/a> and record numbers of opioid deaths<\/a> have left even more families destabilized \u2026 and more children vulnerable.<\/p>\n

This should be a call to action, not despair. Together, the health care industry, community organizations and community leaders can prevent overdose deaths. We can treat substance use disorder. We can help families reunite safely, and we can help children develop skills to cope with the trauma that family substance use can provoke.<\/p>\n

All of this demands a broad strategic response, guided by the understanding that a whole-person, whole-community approach to prevention and treatment is the surest route to minimizing the impact substance use disorders (SUDs) have on families.<\/p>\n

What Works: A Whole-person Approach and a Coalition of Care <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Investing in prevention and treatment<\/a> benefits everyone, not just the families directly involved with SUDs. A holistic system of care that emphasizes positive outcomes in the form of family continuity and security helps build stronger communities.<\/p>\n

A child\u2019s safety and security should always be the top priority. But permanency of household and home have a significant long-term impact on health, well-being and success. Parental substance use and entry into the child welfare system are traumatic events for any person. Reinforcing a healthy family structure provides the best environment for healing from adverse childhood experiences<\/a>. When the health care system and communities work together, we can put families in contact with the support and resources they need to manage substance use and become healthy, whole and functional once again.<\/p>\n

This is one reason why it\u2019s so important to place both primary care and mental health providers at the center of patient care. For example, through the combination of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina\u2019s (Blue Cross NC) practice support and Quartet\u2019s technology platform<\/a>, we\u2019re making it easier for physicians to identify patients with substance use disorder and connect them with the right care at the right time.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s just as important to give patients and their families<\/a> the right resources they need. Tools like ATLAS<\/a>\u00ae – available through Shatterproof<\/a>, a national nonprofit dedicated to reversing the addiction crisis in America \u2013 can help patients and their families make more informed treatment choices based on facility locations, standardized quality data and patient-reported feedback.<\/p>\n

In addition, parents in recovery feel more empowered when they have the resources they need to meet non-medical needs. Barriers to employment, food security, housing, and transportation provoke the stress that often leads to substance use and other household traumas. Not surprisingly, research shows<\/a> that when a parent gets support accessing these fundamental drivers of health, they are more likely to start and complete substance use treatment. Ultimately, this improves the odds of family reunification.<\/p>\n

This is why Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (Blue Cross NC) supports a wide range of community-based treatment and family-support programs<\/a>, including:<\/p>\n