Addiction is harmful to families. Children are often neglected and placed at risk of harm. We're all aware of the high number of deaths caused by the opioid overdose epidemic. What we don't think about is the number of children who are forced into the foster system. An already stressed foster care system is having difficulty accommodating these children. Listen to this recovery support group talk about this issue.

Discussion Guide:

Do you have an experience with the foster care system? Either yourself, or your own children?

If you have children, in what way did your addiction impact them?

Do you believe that you can be both an addict and a good parent?

Addiction causes harm to children to various degrees. What criteria would you use to determine if a child should be taken from the home?

If you lost your children, did it motivate you to stop drug use?

Supplemental Reading:

John DeGarmo, How the Heroin Crisis is Straining Foster Care, Huffington Post, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/how-the-heroin-crisis-is-straining-foster-care_us_58ed0740e4b0ea028d568d3c