Parent Experiences in the Regional Partnership Grants Program: Findings from an Exploratory Study
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Associated Project
Regional Partnership Grants National Cross-Site Evaluation
Prepared for:
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children's Bureau
Key Findings
- Parents reported their formative life experiences affected them in multiple ways and contributed to challenges during subsequent life stages. These experiences included chronic adversity, suffering physical or emotional losses, and early exposure to substances.
- Parents described how their substance use factored into their involvement with the child welfare system, but they also said the system imposed additional hardships that made it difficult for them to maintain sobriety.
- Parents described the RPG services offered by the substance use treatment provider as essential to their recovery journey and their capacity to make positive changes.
- Parents identified three program components that they thought were most important: (1) tailored support with needs and goals, (2) emotional support, and (3) coordination between the child welfare agency and the RPG substance use treatment provider.
Within Regional Partnership Grants (RPG) projects, child welfare organizations, substance use treatment providers, judicial, and other systems work collaboratively to deliver services to families with complex needs to improve child well-being, family functioning, and adult recovery outcomes. This brief describes the findings from in-depth interviews and focus groups conducted with parents enrolled in services provided by two RPG projects. The brief describes parents’ experiences and circumstances from childhood to adulthood and how these factored into their substance use and child welfare involvement as parents. In addition, the brief summarizes parents’ experiences in RPG services, including the service components parents named as necessary to improve family outcomes.
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