This project was funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. We thank them for their support but acknowledge that the findings and conclusions presented in this report are those of the author(s) alone, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Foundation.
The Family First Prevention Services Act (Family First), signed into law on February 9, 2018, offers a historic opportunity for child welfare agencies and their substance use disorder (SUD) treatment partners to expand and enhance family-centered interventions that improve outcomes for children and families affected by SUDs. One of the foundational goals of the law is to keep more children safely at home by providing high-quality prevention services to families. To meet this goal, it is important that child welfare and SUD stakeholders have the information and resources to work collaboratively toward successful planning and implementation of the law.
Children and Family Futures (CFF), the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors (NASADAD), and ChildFocus have collaborated to produce an implementation toolkit focused on the SUD provisions in Family First. The toolkit is designed to equip state leaders with information and resources to work collaboratively toward successful implementation of the law.
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Implementing the Substance Use Disorder Provisions of the Family First Prevention Services Act: A Toolkit for Child Welfare and Treatment Stakeholders
The toolkit is comprised of five key sections, which can be used in combination or as separate documents for jurisdictions looking to focus on one aspect of the law at a time.
Section 1: Understand Key Opportunities and Lay the Groundwork for Collaboration
Section 3: Leverage Family First to Expand Residential Family-Based Treatment
Section 4: Develop a Comprehensive Understanding of Available Funding Streams
Section 5: Create Strong Partnerships to Maximize Success

FFPSA Implementation Challenges and Strategies
This paper, a companion to Implementing the Substance Use Disorder Provisions of the Family First Prevention Services Act: A Toolkit for Child Welfare and Treatment Stakeholders, highlights three main challenges states have encountered in implementing these provisions and offers opportunities to resolve them. As with the toolkit, stakeholders who oversee state SUD treatment services for pregnant and parenting women lent their perspectives to the white paper.
For more information about this project or the Family First Prevention Services Act, please send us an email or use the Contact Us form on the bottom of this page.