Friday, October 8, 2010

Hello everyone, SAMH

Hello everyone, SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) issued the following press release earlier today, announcing funding to help kids growing up in homes affected by parental meth abuse. I thought it was encouraging and figured it was good reading for going into the weekend. Have a good one! SAMHSA awards nearly $16.8 million to expand services to children affected by methamphetamine in families participating in family treatment drug courts The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) will award a total of up to $16.8 million for the next four years in grants to expand and enhance services to help provide greater support to children affected by methamphetamine use in their families. The program will focus primarily on the children (0-17 years old) of parents who use or abuse methamphetamine who are enrolled in a Family Treatment Drug Court (FTDC). Grantees must identify a Service Coordinator with the role of establishing and identifying linkages for necessary services to promote the well-being of the child. These services include providing substance exposed newborns with the proper medical care as early as possible as well as delivering medical and dental and mental health services to affected children in families recovering from methamphetamine problems. A large body of research has demonstrated that the highest risk factors for child abuse and neglect are parental substance abuse, parental mental health problems, and domestic violence. Over the last several years, there has been a tremendous interest on prevention strategies that focus on promoting protective factors such as parental resilience, knowledge of parenting and child development, concrete support, nurturing and attachment, and social connections. “Children of substance abusing parents are likely to experience guilt, anxiety, embarrassment, inability to have close relationships, confusion, and anger,” said SAMHSA Administrator Pamela S. Hyde, J.D. “This program offers children help early on which is important in preventing more serious problems for the child later in life, including substance abuse and mental disorders. The key is helping children understand they are not responsible for the problems of their parents.” It is expected that approximately $4.2 million per year will be available to fund up to 12 grants. Awardees are eligible for up to $370,000 per year for up to four years. The total program is expected to provide a total of nearly $16.8 million over its four year course. The actual amounts may vary, depending on the availability of these funds and the performance of the grantees. The grants will be administered by SAMHSA’s Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. The awardees and the first year amounts of their grants are: Superior Court of California, Riverdale, Calif. $370,000 Clark County, Vancover, Wash. $370,000 Santa Barbara County, Santa Barbara, Calif. $370,000 Colorado Judicial Department, Denver, Colo. $369,090 Oklahoma Department of Mental Health & Substance Abuse, Oklahoma City, Okla. $370,000 Administrative Office of the Courts/Nebraska Supreme Court, Lincoln, Nebraska $369,856 County of Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, Calif. $370,000 San Luis Obispo County Behavioral Health – Drug & Alcohol Services, San Luis Obispo, Calif. $370,000 Dunklin County, Kennett, Mo. $119,082 Butte County, Chino, Calif. $370,000 Sacramento County Department of Health and Human ServicesSacramento, Calif. $370,000 Pima County Juvenile Court , Tucson, Ariz. $369,993 #

1 comment:

Beverly said...

Thanks for posting the article...but my comment is about your tree: At least wait until December!

Probably not putting up a tree this year, or maybe a tiny one, since my apartment is so small and I'm leaving the country on Boxing Day for three weeks.

Guess I'll have to ask my kids about the tree...but not until morning, when it's DECEMBER! lol

Thank you, for choosing to be an interventionist.

The shows are great, your work is great, and I'm inspired by watching to consider going back to school in some capacity to help people. I just have to wait until my baby is in school...but now I know what I want to do.

Funny thing, waiting nearly 40 years and having 4 children before deciding what I want to do when I'm grown up :)

Thanks again for being an inspiration.