Drug Endangered Children: Awareness, Approach, and Intersection with Human Trafficking

Session 1: DEC Awareness – Identifying Drug Endangered Children: A Collaborative Approach – A drug endangered child is a child that is exposed to drug activity and an environment where drugs, both legal and illegal, are present due to parental and/or caregiver substance abuse and misuse. As part of a multidisciplinary team, we may encounter opportunities in which we can change the trajectories of the lives of drug endangered children and break multigenerational cycles. This session will discuss the risks and long-term impacts, as well as the benefits of early intervention and how multidisciplinary collaborative efforts help identify children who are at risk. 

Session 2: The DEC Approach: Moving from Awareness to Action – This training session will discuss how to implement the DEC Approach, which is a strategy based on a common vision, through ongoing collaboration between various disciplines and agencies. This session will provide insights on how all professionals are in a position to identify, protect, and serve drug endangered children and their families by highlighting the importance and benefits of sharing a common vision as a multidisciplinary team at various levels. We will discuss how our own experience, attitudes, values, and emotions impact effect efforts under the DEC Approach. Our speakers will also address how to implement changes in the identification of children, mandatory reporting, evidence, and information collection, as well as other changes in our respective practices on behalf of drug endangered children. 

Session 3: Intersection of Drug Endangered Children and Human/Sex Trafficking – A large majority of children trafficked have parents, caregivers and/or family members who are also using substances, and many trafficking victims also use drugs for a variety of reason. These sessions will help the audience understand the connections between drugs, endangered children, and human trafficking, which are often overlooked by many disciplines. We will discuss definitions, statistics, and case examples to help participants recognize the vulnerableness, understand the intersections, and what can be done to identify and intervene.

Registration Link: Drug Endangered Children: Awareness, Approach and Intersection with Human Trafficking – Coalition Manager