Partnering with Families, Doctors, and Policy Experts to Activate Head Start’s Potential in Battling the Opioid Epidemic
By: Cody Kornack and Sarah Neil
The opioid crisis is worsening, taking over 100 lives each day in the United States. Currently, 8.7 million children live in homes where there is active substance abuse, and the number of children, family members, and communities impacted is multiplying with each passing day.
As Head Start has done during other community crises throughout its 53-year history, the nationwide network of locally-governed programs is taking action. Using their unique position as community-embedded providers of comprehensive services, Head Start staff are working to help children and families cope with the harmful effects of opioid and other substance misuse. But could federal lawmakers do more to support and expand Head Start’s impact in treating this epidemic?
NHSA believes they can, and we are gathering allies who want to activate Head Start’s full potential in treating the growing opioid and substance misuse crisis. On July 30th and 31st, NHSA joined early childhood development experts from around the country for a two-day meeting to chart a path forward for opioid-impacted children and families. NHSA was invited to participate because of our work advocating for more support for the critical role Head Start programs have taken in helping children and families harmed by substance abuse.
The convening brought together Head Start practitioners; representatives from the Office of Head Start, collaboration offices, regional offices, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA), the medical community, and home visiting programs; as well as parents, grandparents, and staff who have been directly impacted by the opioid crisis.
One of those experts at the meeting was Dr. Stephen Patrick, a pediatrician and director of the Vanderbilt Center for Child Health Policy. Dr. Patrick described how the opioid epidemic is impacting communities, states, and tribal nations. He discussed the increase in the occurrence of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) among newborns, the stigma that mothers suffering from substance use disorder experience, options for improved screening and treatment, and policy proposals that would benefit pregnant and new mothers and their infants. His insight guided further discussions and a deeper understanding of how Head Start and Early Head Start can play an effective role in screening and treating babies and young children affected by substance misuse.
Meeting participants were also reminded that children and parents are not the only figures policy makers should consider when developing solutions. In many cases, grandparents step up to play important roles in children’s lives while families are battling substance abuse. These caregivers were represented by several grandparents at the meeting who touched the hearts of the experts in the room with their personal stories about their family’s struggles with opioid and substance misuse — and the support they found with Head Start. One grandmother shared her experience with her own grandson suffering from neonatal abstinence syndrome as an infant, and how his father was unable to care for him. She reflected on her own personal challenges as a primary caregiver, and how she and her grandson found refuge and support with the Head Start home visiting program. She said her grandson is now physically, socially, and emotionally healthy and believes it is “all because of Head Start.”
How can we use these stories to build support for policy changes? After hearing analysis from field experts and the inspirational personal stories of those impacted by the opioid epidemic, the meeting participants turned to conversations about best ways to move forward. The small group discussions focused on developing concrete next steps and creating a strategy for a coordinated approach to support children and families at a national level.
Now comes the critical work of actualizing the ideas and solutions developed. In that vein, last month NHSA released a report, “A Head Start on Treating Our Nation’s Opioid Epidemic” calling for the creation of a targeted federal grant program to assist Head Start programs serving children impacted by the opioid epidemic.
Why is Head Start uniquely positioned to play an impactful role in the opioid epidemic?
- Head Start programs have existing, trusted relationships with families that are a critical starting place for making an impact.
- Head Start’s federal-to-local funding stream means federal investment can go directly to targeted communities without added bureaucracy, administrative costs, or dilution of services.
- As a longstanding, standards-based program, Head Start has developed built-in accountability and data tracking systems that would ensure federal investments would easily be assessed for effectiveness.
Expanding access to the proven power of Head Start would alleviate suffering for tens of thousands of children, change the life trajectories for parents caught in the throes of the opioid epidemic, and save American taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars in long-term costs.
NHSA is currently taking this call to the public, in order to influence policymakers in Congress and the administration. During our Fall Leadership Institute, we will host additional conversations on how the Head Start community can combat these issues. In the meantime, please share your program’s story about how you are responding to the impact of opioid abuse in your community. Your examples will help NHSA spread the word about the importance of keeping children and families front and center as Congress works to address this growing epidemic.
