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NACoA gives those who touch children’s lives daily the training and tools needed to help them see the pain and confusion of struggling children and respond appropriately both systemically in their professions and personally with understanding hearts. In a word, our programs give a voice to impacted children who suffer in silence each day.
Below, please find an overview of some of our most impactful programs. NACoA is available to provide program consultation and training upon request.
NACoA’s Children’s Program Kit provides over 100 skill-based and developmentally appropriate lesson plans and everything needed to offer a strong and effective program of support to school age children of addicted parents. They learn they are not alone, they didn’t cause it, they can’t cure it, but they can learn to cope with it. Improved affective and behavioral changes are noticeable as children complete programs using this comprehensive program kit.
For more information, review the program information sheet.
Contact NACoA to discuss training options for implementation. To order NACoA’s Children’s Program Kit, please contact nacoa@nacoa.org.
Celebrating Families! is an evidence-based, trauma-informed, skill building program of 16 sessions serving the whole family: children ages birth -18, their parents and caregivers, in which one or both parents have a serious alcohol or substance use disorder and there is a high risk for domestic violence, child abuse, or neglect. Operating in nearly 40 states at multiple sites, it works with all family members to strengthen recovery, break the cycle of addiction, and increase successful family reunification.
Review the Celebrating Families! FAQ to read about program basics, or visit the Celebrating Families! website to find out more about this whole-family recovery program. NACoA provides online or in-person training options for both the Group Leader or Train-the Trainer trainings.
Celebrating Families! is listed on The California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare and as a Best Practice for Dependency Drug Courts (Family Drug Courts): “Results have demonstrated consistently superior outcomes when manualized, cognitive-behavioral family interventions were added to the Drug Court, including Strengthening Families and Celebrating Families! (Adult Drug Court Best Practices, Vol. II, National Assoc. for Drug Court Professionals, 2015).
Contact NACoA at nacoa@nacoa.org to discuss the program, curriculum, or trainings.
Alcohol and drug problems interfere with the capacity of addicted individuals and their family members to develop and sustain a meaningful spiritual life. A pastor or chaplain is often the first person approached by a person troubled by their own addiction or that of a family member. Clergy and other pastoral ministers have a wide array of opportunities to address these problems and lead hurting families to recovery support and healing.
The Clergy Education and Training Project® was developed as part of the NACoA Faith Initiative. Developed in collaboration with major national faith organizations, it provides education and tools to help faith communities understand and to address addiction effectively. It has spanned 15 years, creating seminary curriculum, handbooks, training manuals to educate faith leaders and congregants about addiction and its devastating impact on families and especially developing children, webinars, and other educational tools. The project developed Core Competencies for Clergy and Other Pastoral Ministers In Addressing Alcohol and Drug Dependence and the Impact on Family Members® which became the basis for clergy and faith community education in addiction, its destruction of individuals and families, and the role of clergy in its solutions. Included have been over 40 one-day seminars in as many cities for 80-100 clergy and other pastoral ministers and tools to support community and congregation-based efforts.
While NACoA provides increasing amounts of information to help children and families, especially with the broad reach of internet communications, it is not feasible to provide needed direct services to children and families across the country and around the world. Therefore, NACoA’s approach to addressing family alcohol or other drug addiction as effectively as possible is to work with a network of relationships with professional groups who serve kids on the front lines.
Primary Care Physicians see children suffering from the physical and emotional results of addiction in the family.
The Court System sees the ravages of parental addiction to alcohol and other drugs in their courtroom every day.
Social workers touch every system that seeks to help children cope with a variety of family problems, many of which are rooted in parental addiction for many generations.
Educators may notice that a child is withdrawn or unable to do school work because of the chaos at home caused by alcoholism/addiction.
Early childhood Professionals see children from birth through age three, the youngest and most vulnerable population to be affected by parental addiction.
Faith leaders are often the first to be contacted by a spouse who needs help for themselves and their children.
Working in compassionate professions that touch the lives of traumatized children and teenagers regularly can emotionally exhaust and at times physically impact the best of professionals. Depending upon the level of daily involvement, these responsibilities have the capacity to even elicit PTSD-like symptoms, especially if you grew up in a family that struggled with substance disorders that created trauma in your earlier life. It is important for anyone working in these professions to exercise appropriate self-care, and if necessary consider attending Al-Anon or Nar-Anon meetings. NACoA provides a wealth of information for those professionals who see children every day: profession-specific research, kits, books, online educational opportunities, trainings and videos to educate and support those who are in the best position to identify and assist children who live with alcohol or other addictions in the family.
Our training and program resources equip professionals and individuals with tools and knowledge to help provide support to children and families impacted by a loved one’s alcohol or drug addiction.
The library of webinars provides an archive of critical topics on addiction, its impact on the family, children and the community. The speakers are all well-known and knowledgeable subject-matter authorities, providing key insights and information for the listener. The webinars range from 1 ½ to 2 hours in length.
The library of webinars provides an archive of critical topics on addiction, its impact on the family, children and the community. The speakers are all well-known and knowledgeable subject-matter authorities, providing key insights and information for the listener. The webinars range from 1 ½ to 2 hours in length.
This NACoA-developed kit provides all the tools needed to implement educational support groups for children of clients in treatment for addiction, for educational support groups and other educational prevention activities in schools, and for support groups and educational programs in youth-serving community based and faith-based organizations.
The Celebrating Families! curriculum is an evidence-based cognitive behavioral support group model written for families in which one or both parents have a serious problem with alcohol or other drugs and in which there is a high risk for domestic violence, child abuse, or neglect.
It only takes one caring and understanding adult to change a child's life.
When a child’s family struggles with alcohol or substance misuse/addiction issues, the most powerful assistance to the child can come from a caring adult in their lives. Often the child turns to a relative or friend of the family who has acknowledged in some way that they are concerned and available, thus making it feel safe for the child to talk. It could be the mother who is terrified of what is happening to her children as she watches her husband’s addiction grow more concerning, the grandmother who knows her son has a problem with prescription drugs, the best friend who is worried about the mother who routinely is drinking to excess and passing out before dinner, the older brother who works close by and is contacted regularly because no one picked up his younger brother from basketball practice, and many others, whom the child can trust with their “biggest worry.” The goal here is to put tools in the hands of these caring family members who take on the role of caretaker so that they might do the following things:
As a result of broken promises, harsh words, and the threat of abuse, children in many families dealing with parental addiction learn the “Don’t Trust” mantra all too well; silence and isolation can become constant companions. Perhaps the most important gift is the bonding and attachment children attain in healthy relationships with others.
In their book The Resilient Self, Drs. Sybil and Steven Wolin describe "Relationships" as an integral part of the Resilience Mandala.
In her ground-breaking research, Dr. Emmy Werner noted that resilient COAs often had a nurturing adult in their lives. Building trust is a process, not an event; time is the key. Simply caring about a child is all that it takes to start. Listening, regular time together, playing with, validating, respecting, and empowering a youngster will build a positive connection.
Jerry Moe, national director of the Betty Ford Center Children's Programs, often reminds us that "children don't care about how much adults know until they know how much adults care."
There simply can’t be resilient children unless caring adults lead the way. As bonding grows, a nurturing adult’s words take on added meaning and significance as the youngster deeply considers the source. A child may hear accurate information about alcoholism in a brand new way. Moreover, a kid can build upon his or her strengths and resilience as a result of the conscious modeling provided by that caring adult.
Whether we have children of our own or not, many of us can become a nurturing adult in a young child’s life. A youngster desperately in need of such an alliance is very close by. Downloading and reading through the Kit for Kids with a child is a great start to helping them cope with their situation.
Most people are uncomfortable with the idea of approaching someone about problem drinking. But when a child’s well being is at stake, you may be the one to begin the process of reaching out to the problem drinker.
The Road to Recovery series, provided by the SAMHSA Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, features eight episodes focused on the field of recovery. Click here for a special episode dealing with intergenerational issues, and the hope that early intervention can bring for years to come.
At times, the best efforts to help the person struggling with alcohol and/or drugs are not met with a willingness to acknowledge and understand what is happening to him/her and heart-wrenching deterioration in the addicted person — physically, spiritually and socially — continues. The increased concern, anger, and feeling of helplessness grows as the family experiences alienation from the person they love who, in their view it seems, is choosing a relationship with alcohol over one with them.
Watching a person struggle with addiction is incredibly painful. Denial can be strong, shielding a person from admitting that the addiction is affecting day to day living, performance at work, and/or the family. It is often thought that it requires significant challenge – losing a job, one’s family, a tragic accident or experience – to “wake up” a person to the truth that there is a problem. This epiphany, it is believed, results in a commitment to treatment and recovery. Unfortunately, the desperation at this level of challenge can make successful recovery appear insurmountable, and actually may be too late for effective behavioral change. Instead, structured family intervention with the assistance of a professional can help lead a loved one to accept help and the possibility of recovery, before such devastation occurs.
