A multidisciplinary team of professionals with a shared vision collaborated to form The Western Kentucky Alliance for Drug-Endangered Children (DEC). The alliance will coordinate region-wide efforts to address legal or illegal substance misuse affecting children and families.
“The alliance wants to offer help, hope, and support by utilizing multi-disciplinary teams of professionals,” said Heidi Wilson, prevention program assistant at River Valley Behavioral Health. “We know in 2023, there were over 100,000 overdose deaths due to substance misuse (according to the CDC). However, there is no one keeping track of how many children have been impacted by those overdoses.”
According to the federal government’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services, 1 in 8 children live in U.S. households with at least one parent who has a substance abuse disorder. Wilson said these children are at risk for adverse childhood experiences like neglect, incarceration of family members, and emotional, sexual, and physical abuse.
She said they are also more prone to divorce, mental illness, and substance misuse. Another primary concern is the lack of a safe and nurturing environment.
“Children are typically the first impacted by substance misuse, and yet they are often the last recognized as being affected by substance misuse,” she said. “We want to identify children and families early, intervene early, and provide resources so that we can change the trajectory of children’s lives and break the cycle of generational substance misuse, leading to healthy families and communities.”
The alliance plans to assist professionals and community members through community awareness, training, technical assistance, and the development of local resources. They recently conducted a region-wide survey about substance use issues, with 225 people responding in 4 weeks.
Wilson said professionals from all walks of life — including elected officials, first responders, educators, medical professionals, and more — were interested in the efforts.
The alliance plans to participate in upcoming community events such as The Stand in Daviess County on April 12, The Stand in Union County on April 19, and Webster County Cares in Dixon on April 10. Western KY DEC Alliance member Ashton Robertson will present at a nationwide National DEC Awareness Day meeting on April 24.
To learn more about the initiative, email [email protected].
“Drug-endangered children are in every community,” Wilson said. “Therefore, it is important for everyone to know how we can each play a vital role in providing hope and support for these children.”
