The Impact of Sobriety Treatment and Recovery Teams (START) on Family Outcomes

Abstract

Families with child maltreatment and parental substance use disorders are a growing population with complex needs. the sobriety treatment and recovery teams (start) is an integrated model that pairs child protective service workers with family mentors and partners with treatment providers. this is a prospective naturalistic evaluation comparing rates of adult sobriety and child placement in state custody using provider-collected data merged with state administrative data sets. all families in the served and comparison groups had equal risks to child safety. mothers achieved sobriety at 1.8 times the rate of typical treatment; children were placed in state custody at half the rate expected. these results support start as an effective integrated program.imPliCations For PraCtiCe • With adequate supports and timely access to treatment, many children can stay safely with their substance-abusing parents through treatment; keeping families together then promotes parent/child attachment and development of parental capability.• Parents can achieve higher rates of sobriety than is often reported when more potent intervention models are implemented through child welfare.

Application of the Evaluation Framework for Program Improvement of START

“…The START summative evaluation (Huebner et al, 2012) used a matched comparison group of families receiving usual child welfare services. Families with substantiated CAN were matched to START families based on severity of risk as rated on a 28-point scale unique to the state's assessment process, parental SUDS, county, and age of children.…”

“…Multi-agency integrated interventions should include shared goals, outcomes, and case coordination; Young, Nakashian, Yeh, and Amatetti (2007) provide guidelines. Integrated programs and strategies are producing improved outcomes (Huebner, Willauer, & Posze, 2012;Lee, Esaki, & Greene, 2009;Ryan, Marsh, Testa, & Louderman, 2006).…”

Measuring Client Satisfaction and Engagement: The Role of a Mentor Parent Program in Family Drug Treatment Court

“…In recent years, the use of “peer partners,” “family mentors,” “recovery coaches,” and “mentor parents” who provide guidance and emotional and social support has emerged as a promising practice to successfully engage families involved in both the child welfare and substance abuse treatment systems (Berrick, Cohen, & Anthony, ; Berrick, Young, Cohen, & Anthony, ; Bossard, Braxton, & Conway, ; Cohen & Canan, ; Frame, Conley, & Berrick, ; Huebner, Willauer, & Posze, ; Leake, Longworth‐Reed, Williams, & Potter, ; Marcenko et al., ; Ryan, Choi, Hong, Hernandez, & Larrison, ). Although specific models may vary, core qualitative studies to date are in general agreement that the “sameness” of experiences between a peer mentor and parent client allows for a “special and unique” supportive relationship to develop that is key to the success of the peer mentor model (Berrick, Young et al., ; Cohen & Canan, ; Frame et al., ; Leake et al., ; Marcenko et al., ).…”

Sobriety Treatment and Recovery Teams: Implementation Fidelity and Related Outcomes

“…These authors recommend that multi-agency integrated interventions include shared values, goals, and outcomes with interagency case coordination (Young, Nakashian, Yeh, & Amatetti, 2007). Integrated programs that embed strategies, such as peer recovery coaches, co-location of services, and comprehensive strategies are producing improved outcomes (Huebner, Willauer, & Posze, 2012;Lee, Esaki, & Greene, 2009;Ryan, Marsh, Testa, & Louderman, 2006).…”