On Wednesday, November 6th, 2019 approximately 135 police officers, DCF workers, service providers, school staff and court personnel gathered at Stonehill College’s Martin Institute for training by the National Alliance for Drug Endangered Children.
The training, “Building a Coordinated Response” highlighted the challenges and benefits of collaboration between agencies to identify and assist families impacted by substance use.
The training, sponsored by the Plymouth County Drug Abuse Task Force, opened with remarks by Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz and a data presentation by Stonehill College professor and Executive Director of Kelley Research Associates, Pamela Kelley.
The National Alliance for Drug Endangered Children trainers, retired Lieutenant Eric Nation and Stacee Read, MSW, brought years of experience and different perspectives to the topics of identifying drug endangered children and moving from awareness to action.
After learning how to identify drug endangered children, including how children living in dangerous drug environments can get overlooked, training attendees spent the afternoon working on effective collaboration. Collaboration, information sharing and gathering leads to better decision-making and improved outcomes.
The National Alliance for Drug Endangered Children training was presented as part of the Drug Endangered Children’s Initiative, a collaboration between the Plymouth County Drug Abuse Task Force, Plymouth County Outreach and the United Way of Greater Plymouth County’s Family Center. The DEC Initiative is funded by a federal grant awarded to the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office from the Office for Victims of Crime.
