Iowa is the first state to qualify for federal funding of a foster care diversion program for Iowa parents of young children with a substance abuse addiction who agree to in-home assistance. U-S Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Junior says helping a parent overcome addiction will help keep families together.
Under the plan, state social workers considering whether children under the age of six should be moved into foster care can instead provide parents who volunteer with help in their home. There will be three visits a week from a clinician skilled in substance abuse treatment who can also work on the person’s parenting skills.
Kennedy made the announcement yesterday (Tuesday) in Des Moines. Kathryn Burgum, the wife of Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, is the former First Lady of North Dakota and a White House advisor touting the initiative. She has talked openly about her own addiction to alcohol for two decades and her 24 years of recovery. Burgum says the Iowa program’s emphasis on peer support in addition to professional counseling is important.
Governor Kim Reynolds, who has talked about her own addiction to alcohol, says this new foster care diversion program for parents of children under the age of six will be for any parent, regardless of income, who asks for help.
It’s not a choice. Federal officials have approved Iowa’s plan, which will provide at least six months or up to a year of in-home substance abuse treatment and parental counseling. State officials expect to start implementing it next spring and get immediate reimbursement from the federal government for 60 percent of the cost.
