Battling Opioids Podcast: Opioids and Foster Care WQED

As the opioid crisis worsens, more parents are being jailed, overdosing or dying. That’s putting more children into the foster system -- and there aren't enough foster parents to go around. "The trauma to children is profound," says Kimberly Rogers, of Washington County Children and Youth Services.   In Western PA, Cetina and Troy Hendal have taken in seven foster children whose birth parents are struggling with substance use disorder--and just recently adopted two of them.   "If we can change a few lives and stop the cycle, then we've done something," says Troy.   Cetina agrees. "Despite all the noise and the chaos, we're a family."   Pennsylvania's Public Media stations are coming together to share resources, convene community conversations, and produce educational programming that focuses on the opioid crisis and its impact.    Learn more at www.BattlingOpioids.org.   For help with opioid use disorder, visit www.pa.gov/opioids or call 1-800-662-HELP.

As the opioid crisis worsens, more parents are being jailed, overdosing or dying. That’s putting more children into the foster system -- and there aren't enough foster parents to go around. "The trauma to children is profound," says Kimberly Rogers, of Washington County Children and Youth Services.   In Western PA, Cetina and Troy Hendal have taken in seven foster children whose birth parents are struggling with substance use disorder--and just recently adopted two of them.   "If we can change a few lives and stop the cycle, then we've done something," says Troy.   Cetina agrees. "Despite all the noise and the chaos, we're a family."   Pennsylvania's Public Media stations are coming together to share resources, convene community conversations, and produce educational programming that focuses on the opioid crisis and its impact.    Learn more at www.BattlingOpioids.org.   For help with opioid use disorder, visit www.pa.gov/opioids or call 1-800-662-HELP.