One of These Things is Not Like the Other: Parents’ Experience of Family-Focused Substance Use Treatment

Parental substance use represents a significant source of family separation in the U.S. child welfare system. Family-focused substance use treatment programs are an innovative approach to keeping families safely together while addressing the impacts of parental substance use on children and the family system. Yet, we know very little about how families experience this new type of treatment, particularly as it relates to trauma-informed care (TIC). This qualitative study examines the experience of 24 parents participating in the In-Home Recovery Program (IHRP), an intervention that provides substance use and early child relational health treatment to families at risk of separation in the child welfare system. A content analysis indicated that IHRP was highly valued by families. The majority of participants experienced the intervention as uniquely helpful and supportive compared to other forms of substance use treatment they had previously received. Results suggest that IHRP is a model that operationalizes principles of TIC and which could be expanded as a supportive approach to parental substance use in the child welfare system to prevent family separation.