When I entered the world of parent advocacy, I met many people and organizations who were committed to protecting parents and helping parents defend their parental rights. Like me, most of the parents had been impacted by the system because they had either been in the foster care system at one time themselves, had their children in the foster care system, or both. After being in the foster care system myself, it was inspiring to see parents work against the shame that comes with having their children in the foster care system.
In the past, parents may have been silenced or too embarrassed to share their stories and seek support because their children had been taken away by a state agency that deemed the parents “not good enough.” Today, parents deemed, or once deemed, “not good enough” are stepping up to support each other and other parents who may be experiencing or are at risk of experiencing the same kind of social exile. This admirable support is provided in all areas of their lives and in all situations, including harm reduction.
As someone who advocates for keeping our children out of the foster care system, I asked one parent expert the following question: “What does harm reduction have to do with keeping our children out of the foster care system?” I was particularly concerned about the potential conflict of interest between supporting parents to help keep their children out of the foster care system and supporting parents who, some people may believe, choose substances over their children, resulting in their children entering the foster care system.
My conversation with the parent expert helped me to realize that the support I offer to parents wouldn’t be truly complete or effective without including resources about harm reduction. Our conversation was an interesting one. I let the parent expert know that I’ve been around many foster children who did drugs and admitted to using drugs myself when I was in foster care. Obviously, this confession about myself and some of the kids in the foster care system did not surprise the parent expert, but I was surprised when I understood that I was leaving out a potential resource so closely aligned with the identity of many current and former foster children. “How could I be so naive?,” I wondered.
Then, the answer settled upon me. I knew my naivety was the direct result of being in an environment that criminalizes substance use and the people who use substances, whether they’re a child in the foster care system or a parent on the verge of losing their children to the foster care system because of their substance use. The purpose of harm reduction is to do the exact opposite because it is important to affirm people’s feelings, behaviors, and decisions. Also, when people are engaged in activities that can be unsafe, harm reduction offers options to increase safety for the people using the substance, as well as for the communities around those people who may be harmed as a direct result of substance use.
When thinking about how we can keep children out of the foster care system, harm reduction is especially important because if and when parents do use substances, we need to make sure they do not harm their children and know how to keep their children safe while they’re using. Similarly, if foster youth are using substances, we need to make sure they are aware of the harm reduction support services available to them, so they can keep themselves and the other people around them safe. Harm reduction makes people aware of their options and helps to decrease the harm substance use can have on the individual using the substance and the people and communities around them.
Narcan, clean needles, disposable units for sharp objects, and a discussion about the natural consequences of substance use are all equally important and valuable in harm reduction. So, when I think about the question I asked — “What does harm reduction have to do with keeping our children out of the foster care system?” — I now know the answer is simple: everything. Indeed, not talking about harm reduction possibly leads to more children entering the foster care system and, ultimately, more harm.
