Iowa is the first state to qualify for federal funding of a foster care diversion program for Iowa parents of young children with a substance abuse addiction who agree to in-home assistance.
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said helping a parent overcome addiction will help keep families together. “Roughly one in three foster care entries involves parental substance abuse,” Kennedy said. “These numbers tell us why we have to act quickly and decisively.”
Under the plan, state social workers considering whether children under the age of six should be moved into foster care can instead provide parents who volunteer with help in their home. There will be three visits a week from a clinician skilled in substance abuse treatment who can also work on the person’s parenting skills. “Too often government intervenes after addiction has already pushed a family into crisis and a child is at risk of entering foster care,” Kennedy said. “We want to intervene before that happens.”
The state will immediately be able to claim federal reimbursement for about 60% of the cost of the program. Kathryn Burgum, the wife of Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, is the former First Lady of North Dakota and a White House advisor for the “Great American Recovery Initiative.” She has talked openly about her own addiction to alcohol for two decades and her 24 years of recovery. Burgum said the Iowa program’s emphasis on peer support in addition to professonal counseling is important. “There are 113 million people impacted by the disease of addiction in America and they’re impacted by someone else’s addiction,” Burgum said, “and that includes a lot of children.”
Yesterday’s announcement was held at the House of Mercy in Des Moines, which offers substance abuse treatment to women with young children. Governor Kim Reynolds, who has talked about her own addiction to alcohol, said this new foster care diversion program for parents of children under the age of six will be for any parent, regardless of income, who asks for help. “I’m 26 years into recovery and I’ve not been shy about sharing my story and I think it’s important. Calling this a chronic disease, as it is, is a game-changer. You know, it’s not a choice,” Reynolds said. “By me sharing my story, hopefully that gives other individuals the will to ask for help and that’s where it starts.”
Federal officials have approved Iowa’s plan, which will provide at least six months or up to a year of in-home substance abuse treatment and parental counseling. State officials expect to start implementing it next spring.
