District Attorney Brian Gallagher and the staff of the District Attorney’s Office are working to break the generational cycle of substance use disorder, understanding that many children in our community live in homes where at least one caregiver suffers from the disease of addiction.
The DA’s Office has implemented a grant-funded program in coordination with the National Alliance for Drug-Endangered Children to assemble and train a coalition of professionals including child welfare, law enforcement, medical professionals, treatment providers, social service agencies, educators, EMS, judges and court personnel, among others, to identify drug-endangered children and provide them with the support and services they need.
Here are some of the things the Lackawanna County DEC Alliance has been doing:
- Raising awareness in the community of how SUD affects families and children by participating in community events (i.e. National Night Out, Back to School Nights)
- Offering training in DEC awareness and approach
- Providing Lambi kits to children affected by SUD (kits that speak to children about addiction in their language)
- Preparing to implement Handle with CareProgram in local school districts (a “heads up” to a school if a student has been affected by a traumatic event)
- Participating in National DEC Awareness Day with members of the community, identifying “What HOPE Means to Me?” in order to continue to raise awareness
- Providing training/educational information to specific community groups (i.e. the grandparents’ group at Outreach)
- Establishing and maintaining a DEC Steering Committee comprised of a multidisciplinary team, meeting regularly to ensure that the community’s needs in relation to DEC can be met
- Promoting the Check DEC app for phones, allowing providers and community members to access needed services in the community
If you want to learn more about the Lackawanna County DEC Alliance, contact Jan Wojnar, Program Manager, at (570) 963-6717 ext. 7408.
