heroin

Today we conclude a four-part series on Maine’s struggles with maternal substance abuse, which has placed a heavy stress on the state’s hospitals and child welfare system. This series, written by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Barbara Walsh, is republished here with the permission of Pine Tree Watch.

Today we continue with a four-part series on Maine’s struggles with maternal substance abuse, which has placed a heavy stress on the state’s hospitals and child welfare system. This series, written by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Barbara Walsh, is republished here with the permission of Pine Tree Watch.

Today we begin a four-part series on Maine’s struggles with maternal substance abuse, which has placed a heavy stress on the state’s hospitals and child welfare system. This series, written by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Barbara Walsh, is republished here with the permission of Pine Tree Watch.

For five consecutive years, from 2012 to 2016, federal reports have shown a steady increase in the number of youth living in foster care. Sources within the federal agency tracking this number say that these increases will continue in the soon-to-come 2017 count.

In hospitals across the country, the standard procedure for babies exposed to opioids can best be described as “wait and see.” Newborns are often kept in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), to see if they experience the extremely painful withdrawal symptoms related to Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS).

Two states are moving closer to legislation that would allow child welfare officials to immediately move newborns exposed to opioids toward adoption, an effort meant to address the growing number of children entering foster care due to neglect or abuse related to drug use.

Last week, Youth Services Insider reflected on some of the bigger stories in child welfare and juvenile justice for 2017. Now, let’s look ahead. Following are a few things we think will come up in 2018 in child welfare and juvenile justice.

In the fall, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb took to the op-ed page of the Indianapolis Star to communicate with constituents about the state’s opioid and heroin crisis: “The stories are gut-wrenching: babies born addicted to drugs; high school athletes who get hooked on the pills they’re prescribed for sports injuries; elderly Hoosiers with chronic pain problems,” Holcomb wrote.

The Senate Judiciary Committee has marked up and moved the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA), S.524, a bipartisan bill to bolster community-based efforts at helping addicts. Going into the markup, the bill carved out small authorizations for several strategies.