By Katie Knapp Schubert
Omaha, NE – A new program seeks to provide educational, medical, and family-centered therapy services to young children of drug-addicted parents.
Project Safe Start began last week in the Douglas County drug courts in Omaha. It'll be expanded to the Lancaster County drug courts as well. Project co-director Vicky Weisz says Safe Start uses family-centered therapy to help parents going through the drug courts connect with their young children.
Weisz says the need for those services is getting more attention. "I don't know if there are more and more parents that are having substance abuse problems, but there certainly is a greater attention in Nebraska to an early identification of substance abuse problems and trying to provide the proper and appropriate and timely treatment to parents, which often includes or could include drug court."
Weisz says Project Safe Start is about making sure the needs of young children are met while their parents are in drug court. Project Safe Start is funded for the next four years by a federal grant.