Rebel Recovery Florida’s CASPR program provides Case-management, Advocacy, & Support for Parents’ Recovery Resiliency and was developed specifically for participants with substance use disorder who are involved with child welfare programs. These parents may be seeking reunification with their children or working to maintain custody. This program operates within the continuum of services available in Palm Beach County, filling the gap between mandated requirements, participants’ personal needs, and access to the supportive resources these parents are seeking to provide healthy and supportive care to their children.
Certified peer specialists and case managers offer support with compassion and empathy, and deliver a range of services to support participants’ ongoing recovery and ability to provide healthy homelife. participants involved in child welfare programs are frequently overwhelmed, do not necessarily understand their options, and may not have the skills to effectively navigate the process. More critically, they frequently do not know how to access supportive resources needed to achieve sustainable solutions. Many were children themselves who grew up in households with substance use or may have a history of poverty, abuse or neglect. The cycle continues across generations and now their children are at risk. By using a person-centered, trauma-informed approach, peers, case managers and participants work closely to develop an individualized plan to establish and maintain healthy, stable households and break this cycle.
The peer specialist provides connection and uses their lived experience to offer hope, help the participant find and use their voice, and help them to understand available choices and options. Looking first at current strengths, the participant and peer work to address any current or persistent barriers. Working with a case manager, these plans frequently include linkage to housing and transportation resources, social security, food and health benefits, and connection to providers who can offer behavioral health services such as CBT, EMDR, and CPP (Child-Parent Psychotherapy). The case manager maintains up-to-date paperwork for open cases, provides progress notes, collects other supportive documentation, and advocates on behalf of the person when it’s time to go to court or meet with an agency.
This program empowers parents to strengthen their own recovery resiliency. The peer team provides linkage and support for parents to develop new recovery-supportive relationships, build new connections within the community, and prove that having a family in recovery is possible.