Background
The National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare (NCSACW) is an
initiative of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and jointly
funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's
Center for Substance Abuse Treatment and the Administration on Children, Youth
and Families, Children's Bureau's Office on Child Abuse and Neglect. NCSACW's
goals are to develop and implement a comprehensive program of information
gathering and dissemination, to provide technical assistance, and to develop
knowledge that promotes effective practice, organizational, and system changes
at the local, state, and national levels. A consortium of organizations has
been developed to support the implementation of the NCSACW. Consortium members
include: American Public Human Services Association, Child Welfare League
of America, National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors,
National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, and National Indian
Child Welfare Association.
Virginia was one of four states awarded a NCSACW technical assistance grant in 2003-04. In addition to developing an interagency Memorandum of Understanding and corresponding strategic plan, Safe Families in Recovery Project (SFRP) efforts also contributed to the following initiatives:
Virginia’s Best Practice Courts/Family Treatment Drug Courts
The Cities of Richmond and Charlottesville were each recently awarded
$450,000 from the U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance to support their family
treatment drug courts over the next three years. These jurisdictions have
higher rates of foster care than the state average. Alexandria also has a
family treatment drug court.
DSS has applied for a Title IVE Waiver to provide intensive case management services for substance using parents of children involved in Virginia’s family treatment drug courts with the goal of reunification, to birth parents and foster kinship care families that provide care for children of substance abusers. If awarded, one intensive case management position will be allocated to each of Virginia’s 3 family treatment drug courts in the first year of the grant enabling them to expand the services they offer. Over the 5 years of the waiver, up to 11 additional positions will be made available to additional juvenile and domestic relations district courts, so they may develop family treatment drug courts and provide similar intensive case management services.
Education and Training
STATE AND FEDERAL POLICY ISSUES
HB1041: In 2004, Virginia legislation expanded the definition of “abused or neglected child” to include a child who is present during the sale or manufacture of certain illegal substances.
CAPTA: The 2003 reauthorization of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act added several new eligibility requirements for States, including: triage procedures for referral of children not at imminent risk of harm to community or prevention services; training for CPS workers on their legal duties and parents’ rights; provisions to refer children under age three who are involved in a substantiated case to early intervention services; and a requirement that health care providers notify CPS when they are involved in the delivery of care to an infant born and identified as affected by illegal substance abuse.