AUTHOR=Horn Kimberly A. , Pack Robert P. , Trestman Robert , Lawson Gerard 

TITLE=Almost Everything We Need to Better Serve Children of the Opioid Crisis We Learned in the 80s and 90s

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 6 - 2018

YEAR=2018

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2018.00289

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2018.00289

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=Opioid use disorder impedes dependent parents’ abilities to care for their children. In turn, children may languish in unpredictability and persistent chaos. Societal responses to these children are often guided by a belief that unless the drug-abusing parent receives treatment, little can be done to help the child. While a preponderance of the drug abuse research has been adult-centric, a significant body of research demonstrates the importance of not only addressing the immediate well-being and safety of the children of drug abusing caregivers but how to prevent the continuing cycle of drug abuse. The present commentary demonstrates through a brief review of the US history of drug abuse crises and an abundance of research from the 80s and 90s, in particular, a range of ‘tried and true’ family, school, and community interventions centered on children. We already know that these children are at high risk of maladjustment and early onset of drug abuse, early intervention is critical, multiple risk factors are likely to occur simultaneously, comprehensive strategies are optimal, and multiple risk-focused strategies are most protective. Where we need to turn our efforts is on how to effectively implement and disseminate our best practices, many of which we learned in the 80s and 90s. The greatest opportunity in both changing the nature of the opioid epidemic at scale and influencing rapid translation of known research findings into policy and practice is not in asking what to do, but in asking how to do the right things well, and quickly.