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Safety and Risk Video Series

Provides child welfare professionals with details on the unique safety factors related to parental substance use disorders (SUDs). It includes considerations when planning for safety with families. The series highlights strategies to promote parent engagement and support a coordinated approach—across systems—that helps families mitigate child safety and improve family well-being.

National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare 2023

For more information on safety and risk, read our Child Welfare Practice Tip Sheets Series.

Mitigating Safety and Risk for Children Affected by Parental Substance Use Disorders Involved in the Child Welfare System

Mitigating Safety and Risk for Children Affected by Parental Substance Use Disorders Involved in the Child Welfare System

Date: February 28, 2023

The webinar reviews 1) child welfare assessment of parental substance use as a safety or risk factor through standardized screening... (Read More)

Engagement and Safety Decision-Making in Substance Use Disorder Cases

Engagement and Safety Decision-Making in Substance Use Disorder Cases NCSACW

Date: January 11, 2023

Provides an overview of strategies and observations to support engagement with families affected by parental SUDs and involved in child... (Read More)

Planning for Safety in Cases When Parental Substance Use Disorder is Present

 Planning for Safety in Cases When Parental Substance Use Disorder is Present

Date: January 05, 2023

Discusses safety factors related to parental SUDs and unique considerations when planning for safety. Provides an overview of strategies... (Read More)

Find Help with a Personal Situation

Substance Use and Mental Health Treatment Locator

To find treatment facilities confidentially, 24/7, please call 1-800-662-4357 (HELP).

To locate general treatment services, visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA’s) Treatment Locator online or call 1-800-662-4357 (HELP). This service provides referrals to local treatment facilities, support groups, and community-based organizations. It is a free, confidential, 24-hour-a-day, 365-day-a year information service, in English and Spanish, for individuals and family members needing treatment for a mental and/or substance use disorder.

National Child Abuse Hotline

If you suspect a child has been harmed by abuse or neglect, please call 1-800-422-4453.

If you suspect that a child has been harmed or is at risk of being harmed by abuse or neglect, call the National Child Abuse Hotline at Call the National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453. Serving the United States and Canada, the hotline is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with professional crisis counselors who—through interpreters—provide assistance in over 170 languages. All calls, texts, and chats are confidential. If you believe a child is in immediate danger of harm, call 911 first.

National Suicide Prevention Line

For free and confidential support for people in distress, 24/7, please call or text 988, chat 988Lifeline.org, or call 1-800-273-8255.

If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide or experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis, help is available and there are options to receive compassionate care. You can call or text 988 or chat 988Lifeline.org. You can also call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255). Both are confidential and available 24/7 to everyone in the United States and will connect you to a trained counselor at a suicide crisis center nearest you.

Contact Us

The National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare offers free technical assistance to a variety of systems on making policy and practice changes to improve outcomes for families affected by substance use disorders and involvement with child welfare services. To learn more about technical assistance services or if you have a question please email NCSACW at ncsacw@cffutures.org or call toll-free at 1–866–493–2758.

National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare