CFC #12020
Venmo @NacoaVoice4Children
CFC #12020
Venmo @NacoaVoice4Children
NACoA provides its expertise at a variety of events both online and in-person. Designed to enhance the skills and knowledge of program group leaders, educators, faith leaders, behavioral health professionals, or any caring adult interested in helping children, families, and communities impacted by parental addiction.
Offerings include conference keynote and workshop presentations, webinars, on-site training, and certifications that have been created for educators, faith and lay leaders, community leaders, behavioral health workers, or to help raise awareness in communities about the intergenerational trauma affecting these families and how to bring hope and healing to them. Contact NACoA if you are interested in arranging an event for your organization, contingency, or community.
Are you welcoming new facilitators to your Celebrating Families! program? Looking to grow your team as more families engage in your services? Or are you preparing to relaunch your program after a pause during the pandemic? This training is designed for you!
This is a unique opportunity for organizations to strengthen their teams by enrolling individual facilitators—no need to contract an entire training. Participants will join a national cohort in an engaging, online training experience.
Training Objectives:
• Explore the unique, evidence-based approach of Celebrating Families!
Learn how this family-centered program addresses the needs of children and caregivers impacted by substance use disorders.
• Build confidence in using the Celebrating Families! curriculum.
Gain hands-on experience with session materials and facilitation strategies.
• Learn how to lead multi-generational educational support groups.
Develop skills for engaging participants across age groups, from children to adults.
• Experience key program activities from the participant perspective.
Deepen your understanding of the program’s impact through interactive exercises.
CEUs through NAADAC will be awarded upon completion.
Trainings Available:
May 5 -7, 2026
September 15 -17, 2026
10 am – 6 pm ET, 10 am – 6 pm ET, 10 am – 2 pm ET, includes morning/afternoon breaks as needed
Cost per person: $975. Price does not include curriculum, which will be needed throughout the training.
Contact Director of Programs Mary Beth Collins with any questions.
This interactive training prepares peers/professionals to implement developmentally appropriate, educational support programming for children impacted by a parent or caregiver with a substance use disorder (SUD). Participants will explore the foundational principles of NACoA’s Children’s Program Kit and gain practical tools to create safe, strength-based, trauma-informed group environments that promote resilience and interrupt intergenerational patterns of addiction.
Trainings Objectives:
By the end of this training, participants will be able to:
1. Explain the impact of substance use disorder on children and family systems, including the emotional, behavioral, developmental, and relational effects.
2. Identify common survival roles children may adopt in families impacted by SUD (e.g., hero, scapegoat, lost child, mascot, caregiver/parentified child) and understand how these adaptive strategies can influence long-term wellbeing.
3. Articulate the rationale for providing educational support groups for children, grounded in research on resilience, protective factors, and early intervention.
4. Describe why every addiction treatment provider should incorporate programming for children and families, recognizing children as integral members of the recovery ecosystem and key stakeholders in long-term family healing.
5. Apply implementation guidelines from NACoA’s Children’s Program Kit, including group structure, facilitator considerations, cultural responsiveness, and developmentally appropriate delivery.
6. Integrate trauma-informed and stigma-reducing language practices in alignment with national best practices, including person-first language as outlined in the Shatterproof Addiction Language Guide.
7. Design programming that addresses seven core topic areas:
o Understanding the addiction
o Identifying and expressing feelings
o Developing healthy coping skills
o Strengthening problem-solving abilities
o Understanding treatment and recovery
o Identifying safe and supportive people
o Processing grief and ambiguous loss
8. Incorporate evaluation and outcome measurement strategies to ensure program effectiveness, continuous improvement, and sustainability.
9. Develop strategies to interrupt intergenerational cycles of addiction, strengthening protective factors and promoting long-term family resilience.
CEUs through NAADAC will be awarded upon completion.
Trainings Available:
April 28 – 29
September 30 – October 1
Two consecutive six hour training days: 9 am – 12 pm and 1 pm – 4 pm ET
Cost of the training:
$1095 training for those with a Children’s Program Kit purchased in 2020 or more recently
$1595 training and two year subscription to curriculum
Price does not include curriculum, which will be needed throughout the training.
Contact Director of Programs Mary Beth Collins with any questions.
When law enforcement responds to a call, they often encounter more than a single incident—they encounter a family system shaped by the disease of addiction.
This interactive training, developed by the National Association for Children of Addiction (NACoA), an excerpt from our Law Enforcement Curriculum, equips law enforcement professionals with foundational knowledge and practical tools to recognize and respond effectively when parental substance use is part of the story.
Trainings Objectives:
By the end of this training, participants will be able to:
1. Recognize how parental substance use disorders may present in children’s behavior, family dynamics, and law enforcement interactions.
2. Identify common stress and trauma responses in children who live with parental alcohol or drug use, and distinguish these from defiance or non-compliance.
3. Apply foundational trauma-informed response principles when children are present during calls involving substance use.
4. Engage in guided reflection on current response practices and identify opportunities to strengthen child-centered, family-aware approaches.
5. Understand the role of language in shaping outcomes, including how person-first, non-stigmatizing language can reduce escalation and increase cooperation.
6. Describe the short- and long-term impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) related to parental substance use, and why early response matters.
7. Identify appropriate referral pathways and community partnerships, including how NACoA resources can support families beyond the initial response.
Beyond the Call serves as a foundational introduction and gateway to NACoA’s advanced, multi-day curriculum designed to deepen skills, shift culture, and build sustainable partnerships between law enforcement and community-based family supports.
CEUs through NAADAC will be awarded upon completion.
Trainings Available:
Three two hour training days weekly over three weeks.
Schedule and costs to be announced soon.
Contact Director of Programs Mary Beth Collins with any questions..
These 30-minute sessions are designed for sites providing Celebrating Families! to network and meet with NACoA leadership. There will be opportunities to learn about program updates and participate in supportive discussions to troubleshoot concerns. Success stories are also welcome! We look forward to having you join us!
These sessions are intended for organizations/agencies already providing Celebrating Families! To Learn more about this whole-family recovery program, visit the website or contact NACoA.
This session spotlights how to support children affected by parental substance use through scalable, culturally responsive, family-centered interventions used around the world that build resilience, interrupt intergenerational harm, and promote equity and accessibility across diverse communities. This session features NACoA international Allies: AV Baliga Memorial Hospital, Addiction Suisse, Alcohol Action Ireland, NACoA Deutschland, NACoA UK, NACoA Slovenija.
*Scholarships are available for students and under-resourced professionals.
