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About 12% of children live with at least one parent with an alcohol or substance use disorder. One in three children enters the foster care system due to parental drug use. Exposure to trauma and stress increase the risk of developing a substance use problem and makes recovery efforts more difficult. Head Start and Early Head Start staff can help affected families by offering non-judgmental support and connecting them to substance use treatment and mental health services.

Join the Office of Head Start (OHS) for a discussion on how to best support families affected by substance use disorders. It will be followed by a question and answer session on related issues. Engage in peer dialogue, chat with experts, and identify strategies for Head Start programs.

Presenters

Sangeeta Parikshak, PhD, social science analyst and behavioral health lead, OHS
Neal Horen, PhD, National Center on Early Childhood Health and Wellness; director of early childhood, Center for Child and Human Development, Georgetown University
Dr. Stephen Patrick, MD, MPH, MS, assistant professor of pediatrics and health policy, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine

Before the Office Hours

Optimizing Outcomes for Pregnant Women and Infants Affected by the Opioid Crisis
Prior to the discussion, please watch this webinar from the Impact of Substance Use on Children and Families Series.

Learn about the effects of opioids on exposed infants. Dr. Patrick discusses the history of the opioid crisis and substance use in pregnancy, including neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). Learn more about Vanderbilt's model of care, which uses interdisciplinary teams and standardized protocols to decrease the median length of stay and improve transitions to home. This webinar also discusses long-term outcomes and relevant state policies.

Head Start Heals Campaign

Find more trauma resources and strategies about Head Start Heals on the ECLKC. Program managers can use these resources to design quality improvements for their programs. Direct service staff can use promoted strategies to assist the children and families they serve. Join the conversation on social media using #HeadStartHeals.

In the coming weeks, Head Start Heals will present the following webinars and office hours:

Tuesday, May 12, 2020, 2–3:30 p.m. ET – Addressing Trauma in Classroom Settings
Thursday, May 14, 2020, 1–2 p.m. ET – Head Start Heals Office Hours: Partnering with Families to Address Domestic Violence
Thursday, May 28, 2020, 3–4 p.m. ET – Head Start Heals Office Hours: Family Engagement and Child Welfare
Thursday, June 11, 2020, 3–4 p.m. ET – Preparing for Challenging Conversations with Families

Questions?

Send your trauma-related questions or comments to [email protected].

All events listed above will be available both as live events and on-demand for a limited time following the event. They will also be posted to the ECLKC 10-15 days after the live webinar.