Dive Brief:
- The Drug Enforcement Administration and Discovery Education have teamed up for a national education initiative aimed at addressing the opioid crisis by teaching middle and high school students about addiction and its impact.
- Resources produced for the Operation Prevention initiative are free for schools and include standards-aligned digital lesson plans about the science behind the physical and neurological effects of opioid abuse as well as self-paced online learning modules for students that come with pre- and post-tests.
- A parent toolkit also offers ideas for family discussion starters, a guide about warning signs and what they might mean and research-based strategies for prevention as well as intervention.
Dive Insight:
Heroin and prescription painkiller abuse are on the rise in the United States, impacting communities of all races and income levels, though the white community has been particularly hard-hit and schools that haven’t necessarily had to deal with addiction and overdose are being forced to respond. Beyond offering prevention and intervention counseling and other services, schools are also having to adapt to new caregiver populations because of the opioid crisis.
The number of grandparents raising grandchildren is up, partly because of the opioid crisis. Generations United’s latest State of Grandfamilies report is based on solutions and supports for those raising the children of the opioid epidemic. Many schools are not set up to be welcoming and inclusive to grandparents as primary caregivers, but administrators can make simple changes to language in permission slips and other types of home-school communication and improve engagement.