On February 8, 2018, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) committee held a hearing entitled “Impact of the Opioid Crisis on Children and Families,” the fourth in a series of hearings on the opioid crisis. Committee members examined the various ways states are implementing adequate care for children impacted by drug abuse as set out by the Comprehensive Care Act (CARA).
Opening
During his opening statement, Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander spoke about legislation he helped to craft that allowed the National Institute of Health (NIH) more flexibility in funding opioid addiction research. He also noted that while additional legislation may be needed to ensure that newborns and children suffering from drug abuse receive adequate care, Congress had taken steps to protect these children through various legislative acts.
Ranking Member Patty Murray discussed the unrelenting need to respond to the opioid crisis with additional federal funding. She criticized the current Administration and stated that the child welfare system should be reoriented towards prevention services for families, in hopes that such a change of focus will decrease the number of children entering the foster care system due to loss of parental rights due to opioid addiction.
Committee Discussion
Child Welfare Funding
The Committee discussion seemed to have an emphasis on the growing number of children entering child welfare programs. The discussion touched upon ways to best to address mental health and drug education in schools, the growing strain on the foster care system, and the additional burden put on grandparents who act as primary care givers for children with parents with opioid addictions.
Senator Robert Casey cited the opioid crisis as both a human and economic problem as growing numbers of grandparents raise children of OUD suffering parents. Grandparents who raise these children save the country billions of dollars by keeping these children out of foster care but often deal with a lower quality of life under the added burden.
Senator Tim Scott asked how best to fiscally support children born with NAS through the first several years of their lives when they lack financial support from their parents. Dr. Stephen Patrick, an Assistant Professor of Pediatric Health at Vanderbilt University Health Center, believes that one way is for Congress to push for additional funding for early intervention services such as speech and occupational therapy in order to provide the greatest benefit to these children.
Senator Elizabeth Warren also mentioned the financial impact that parental overdose could have on a child. She suggested restoring survivor benefits granted to children through the Social Security Act through the age of twenty-two to help support full time students who “age out” of the foster care system.
Educating and Supporting Adolescents
Along the same lines, another topic that was discussed was how to educate and support adolescents to try to prevent another generation from coming under the grips of opioid addiction.
Becky Savage, the co-founder of the 525 Foundation, cited peer counseling groups and open dialogue drug education programs in schools as effective methods to reduce the stigma around opioid use and lower drug use rates in teens and adolescents, while Dr. Bell called for stronger efforts to make schools a “safe haven” for children in the community who may be at risk for drug abuse and addiction.
Senator Todd Young suggested a nationwide public awareness campaign that would be aimed at adolescent and high-school aged students in an attempt to educate them about OUDs and the potential for overdose.
Conclusion
In a moment of rare bipartisanship, Committee members came together to agree that additional funding was needed to address the opioid crisis and provide opioid use disorder (OUD) sufferers with adequate anti-addiction resources. The bipartisanship ended, however, Democrats specifically criticized recent budget cuts by the administration and recommended that additional federal funding should be directed towards Medicaid and other health care institutions that work to support the families of opioid users.