About START
START (Sobriety Treatment and Recovery Teams) which is part of the Family First Prevention Services Act that established prevention programs focused on keeping families together.
START is a family-centered, collaborative intervention for families with Child Protective Services (CPS) involvement and children 0-5 years of age, who are impacted by parental substance use.
A START team consists of a dyad, which is a case manager and a family mentor (a person who has lived experience with addiction and recovery). The START team works with the parents to achieve recovery so children can remain in the home with the parents when it is safe to do so. The START team works with treatment providers to coordinate and deliver timely access to treatment and other intervention services for the family. Services are provided to each individual and to the family as a whole and are focused on strengthening the relationship between the parents and children.Â
Regional Contacts
Initial Eligibility Criteria
- Parental substance use is a primary contributing factor for DCF involvement.
- At least one child in the home is between 0-5 years of age.
Timeline
START operates on an accelerated timeline to ensure child safety and help parents on the road to sobriety and recovery.
- DCF sends a START referral within 14 days of the initial investigation.
- The START team meets with the family within 48 hours.
- The parent completes a drug and alcohol assessment within 4 days of meeting the family.
- The parent begins treatment within 4 days of receiving treatment recommendation.
In-Home Visits
- The START teams meet families in their home twice a week. Depending on the level of support needed, visits could be reduced to once a week after 30 days. Â
- The case manager will meet with each child individually at least once a month.
- The START teams assess child safety and monitor for substance use at every visit.
Goals
- Ensure child safety and well-being.
- Prevent foster care entry
- Support parents in achieving and maintaining sobriety and recovery.
- Increase family stability and self-sufficiency.
- Decrease repeat child maltreatment.
- Improve system capacity for addressing co-occurring substance use disorders and child abuse and/or neglect.
Benefits
- Women in START have nearly double the sobriety rate of non-START counterparts.
- Parents/caregivers receive access to high quality treatment and support in their community.
- Children are half as likely to enter foster care.
- Families obtain resources to support their sobriety and recovery.
START is available in the following Kansas counties:
Family Preservation:
- Atchison
- Barber
- Butler
- Cowley
- Douglas
- Elk
- Greenwood
- Harper
- Johnson
- Kingman
- Leavenworth
- Pratt
- Sedgwick
- Sumner
- Wyandotte
Family First Prevention Services:
- Cherokee
- Crawford
- Jackson
- Jefferson
- Labette
- Neosho
- Shawnee