Parents with substance use disorders (SUDs) and child welfare involvement often face obstacles in accessing and remaining in treatment.  We offer training and technical assistance (TTA) to help Tribes, states, counties, and communities implement recovery support services—either through peers with lived experience of SUDs and child welfare involvement; or by professionally trained recovery specialists—who help parents overcome barriers, encourage them to remain engaged in the treatment and recovery process, and meet all court requirements. Our TA involves reviewing and selecting the most appropriate program model and identifying possible funding streams for the long-term sustainability of these positions.

Many child welfare agencies and family court programs have integrated peers and recovery specialists into their service delivery models because they support parents affected by SUDs and promote engagement. In the context of child welfare, peers and recovery specialists support the parents and family, coordinate services to achieve cross-agency goals of fostering adult recovery and parental capacity, strengthen adult and child bonding, and promote child safety and permanency in their caregiving relationships.¹ Peers and recovery specialists offer families support to build recovery capital—the internal and external resources necessary to begin and maintain recovery—while also serving as a liaison between agencies and parents.

Research studies and program evaluations demonstrate that many peer and recovery specialist  program models show promising outcomes. We house the National Sobriety Treatment and Recovery Teams (START) TTA Program. START is an evidence-based child welfare service delivery model that pairs caseworkers with family mentors (i.e., those in long-term recovery from a SUD). START received a “Supported” rating from the Title IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse in May 2022. START is rated as an Evidence-Based Program under two service areas, Substance Abuse and In-home Parent Skill-based Programs and Services.