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CFC#12020
CFC#12020
NACoA’s mission is to eliminate the adverse impact of alcohol and drug use on children and families.
NACoA’s mission is to eliminate the adverse impact of alcohol and drug use on children and families.
Using our network of the most respected experts in the field, we provide solutions to address these impacts effectively. NACoA envisions a world in which no child who struggles because of family addiction will be left unsupported.
If you are dealing with a parent who abuses alcohol or drugs — or have a relative or friend who does — we’re here to help. NACoA offers resources for everyone, including providing support for professionals with tools and training in order to better support individuals in pain due to alcohol and drug dependency in their families. We offer a variety of programs and products uniquely designed to offer support and assist you at home or in the workplace.
NACoA is the only national membership organization focusing on the children of parents struggling with alcohol or substance abuse. Additionally, we are working internationally through affiliates in Great Britain, Germany, Poland, New Zealand, and Brazil.
are touched by the adverse effects of a parent abusing alcohol or drugs. We are the voice for these children, and have been for over 30 years. We are fueled by a deep and abiding passion to break the silence for millions of families entrapped by the "no talk" rule. We work to ensure that they can find their own voice, and by sharing their experiences find the hope and healing they deserve.
A 501(c)(3) membership organization which includes national, regional, and international affiliate groups and cooperative relationships with partner organizations
A national center for information, education, and advocacy for Children of Addiction (COAs) of all ages, providing the latest research information through culturally and linguistically sensitive materials
A policy and program development center that obtains input from expert scientists, opinion leaders, policy makers, practitioners, and leaders in systems that impact children's lives
A central point of input for children’s health and welfare advocates and service providers who address populations of COAs
We are youth workers, coaches, volunteers, grandparents, and neighbors who wanted to help a hurting child we cared about and came to NACoA for guidance because we didn’t know what to do. NACoA helped us and now we are giving back to help others.
We are concerned professionals—doctors, social workers, attorneys, teachers, family counselors, early childhood professionals, developmental psychologists, clergy, and pastoral counselors—who see the painful consequences of growing up with an alcoholic or drug dependent parent.
We are adult children of alcoholic parents who struggled in silence to make sense of what was irrational, unpredictable and frightening for too many days of our childhood, and we want it to be better for today’s and tomorrow’s children.
We are college students and other young adults who have realized that keeping silent all our growing up years didn’t fix anything at home, and we want to help break the silence and reach thousands of others through social media to have a little more hope and safety than we had.
A diverse group of professionals and volunteers committed to bringing healing to children and families with addiction, our affiliates are NACoA’s eyes, ears, and heart. Click below to learn more about our affiliates, including how you too can bring hope to children around the country and globe.
Click on the questions below to find the answers you need.
Why NACoA?
One in four children in the US is exposed to alcohol or drug dependence in their family, frequently creating enormous obstacles to normal development, health and safety.
Every second of every hour of every day, two children are born into families with an alcohol or drug problem.
NACoA is a voice for these children and advocates for them by influencing public policy and the systems that serve children to recognize the issues involved and intervene appropriately.
NACoA provides effective programs and training, putting tools in the hands of tens of thousands of health care, school, judicial, social services and faith organization professionals who come into contact with these children, so that they are prepared to provide needed information and support.
NACoA has a central and sole focus on the children of addicted parents, unlike other groups that promote children’s health and well-being in other ways.
These children are voiceless due to the shame, isolation, confusion and family dysfunction that accompany family addiction.
NACoA offers the following services:
NACoA works with many national colleague groups, and periodically participates on a broad range of expert panels that deal with issues of importance to NACoA, such as: FASD (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder), school-based prevention programs, clergy education programs, prevention core competencies panels, advisory groups, and the Addiction Leadership Group. NACoA participates in various commissions under the Department of Health and Human Services – always with a focus on the inclusion of support for children and families impacted by alcohol use disorder and/or other drug dependencies. Visit Colleague Organizations for some of the groups with whom NACoA collaborates from time to time on issues and projects of mutual interest.
Although NACoA has a unique mission as the voice for children affected by addiction, it shares common cause with these groups that work to increase support for research, services, and policies that address this major cause of pain, suffering, and economic consequences. These organizations represent scientific, professional, educational, and advocacy groups. Together we work to present a unified perspective, based on scientific evidence, to advance public understanding and effective policy development, and to support research, prevention, treatment, and recovery efforts across the nation.
If your question isn’t answered here, or elsewhere in the website, please contact us.
