Services combine drug education, parenting
AUGUSTA, Maine — With more than 60 percent of the children coming into the state’s protective custody due to parental substance abuse as a risk factor, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has launched an innovative pilot program designed to support vulnerable and at-risk families by co-locating parenting education and substance abuse services. Houlton is the only site in Aroostook County offering these services.
“The heartbreaking truth is that this epidemic has a far-reaching impact in Maine; we see it each year as more than 1,000 babies are born drug-affected,” said DHHS Commissioner Mary Mayhew. “DHHS is committed to exploring and evaluating new approaches to help parents into substance abuse treatment, support critical parenting skills and achieve a healthy and safe home environment for their children.
Mayhew said, “The drug epidemic is destroying the fabric of our families and communities in Maine. We have an obligation to support innovative programs designed to improve long-term outcomes for children in child welfare and their parents. We cannot deny what research tells us, if we do not get at the heart of the issue these children could face negative outcomes such as poor social and emotional development along with depression and even substance abuse issues of their own. It is our duty to stop this vicious cycle.”
The Maine Office of Child and Family Services (OCFS) has created the Maine Enhanced Parenting Project (MEPP), a demonstration project that pairs the Matrix Intensive Outpatient Program and Positive Parenting Program (Triple P). Matrix is a four-component treatment that blends six therapeutic approaches into 16 weeks of intensive treatment. Matrix has over 20 years of research demonstrating positive outcomes. Triple P (Positive Parenting) is an intensive parent education intervention proven to work in families experiencing moderate to severe behavioral or emotional difficulties. Triple P is supported by over 35 years of evaluation research that demonstrates significant child welfare and child/parent well-being outcomes.
“In the last two years more than half of all victims of child abuse had a family risk factor of drug or alcohol misuse. If we are not teaching effective parenting and helping families learn how to work together then we are not preventing the next wave of the problem,” said OCFS Director Jim Martin.
This project is meant to improve outcomes in at least two generations of Maine families: Parents who are in treatment for substance use disorders and the children in their care. By integrating the Positive Parenting Program with substance abuse treatment, Maine is focused on addressing two significant factors that are contributing to family instability and behavioral issues for youth.
Under the demonstration project, eligible families where one or more parents are in need of intensive outpatient services and have at least one child 0-5 years of age will receive coordinated, concurrent and co-located parent education and substance abuse treatment services.
In addition to being offered in Houlton, these services are currently available in Scarborough, Kennebunk, Bangor, Ellsworth and Machias. Officials anticipate 250 Maine parents will be served through this project annually.
“By taking meaningful, deliberate, collective action, we are strengthening our community resilience and the protective strategies that keep children and families healthy and together,” said Mayhew.
DHHS is committed to creating community-based supports that help keep families together whenever possible. Through efforts such as this project, Maine has the opportunity to build a network of support to divert families from needing state intervention all together.
