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In 2023, the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC)/Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and JBS International, Inc. initiated the Supporting Children, Youth, and Families Affected by the Drug Crisis: Recruiting and Developing Peer Recovery Coaches initiative. This initiative is expanding much-needed support for children and families impacted by substance misuse by recruiting, training, and deploying family-centered peer recovery coaches (F-CPRCs). This innovative approach is a force multiplier that enhances the capabilities of peer recovery coaches, an existing and successful component of the human services workforce, towards meeting the growing and complex needs of children and family members who have suffered crime victimization as a result of a family member’s or caregiver’s substance misuse. The initiative leverages the existing and growing group of peer recovery professionals to better respond to the recovery and healing needs of the larger family unit, resulting in breaking cycles of trauma, child crime victimization, substance use disorder, and disrupted families. 

Through a highly collaborative effort that includes key partners, the voices of people with lived experience, and partner communities, we are developing a specialized F-CPRC model training curriculum. The model, corresponding training curriculum, and resulting direct services will apply a child victim services lens to increase peer recovery support staff capacity to address the needs of the entire family, not just the individual in recovery. Additionally, we are expanding the presence of this specialized, effective F-CPRC workforce in nonclinical settings, with a goal of creating an upstream, community-based, and sustainable model to support whole-family healing for child victims of the drug crisis and their families.