08/21/2026
August is now National Substance Use Primary Prevention Month, with a focus on stopping substance abuse before it starts.
It's easy to hear "parental drug use" and think this is a story about bad parents. It's more complicated than that. Research shows states with more punitive policies toward parental drug use actually see higher rates of substantiated maltreatment and foster care entries, and those policies can discourage parents from seeking help in the first place. π
Addiction is not a character flaw. When we punish families instead of supporting them, kids pay the price twice: Once through separation, and again when their parents can't get the treatment that might have kept the family together. π