Recovery and Parenting Toolkits

Training and Technical Assistance

Our team works to build capacity in this field, supporting not only our own staff members but also expanding our reach to bring trainings and resources beyond our Massachusetts-based project. We support anyone who is interested in embarking on or further developing their work in building peer-led programs to serve families impacted by parental substance use. Our resources can be used by home visitors, mental health counselors, peer staff and others in the field who want to use person-centered, strengths-based approaches to support parents and people in recovery on their journeys.

Hear from participants and staff from FIRST Steps Together about the FIRST STEPS: My Family Portfolio

FIRST STEPS: My Family Portfolio Workbook

The FIRST STEPS: My Family Portfolio was designed by parents in recovery to help other parents through their recovery and parenting journeys. It includes tools for wellness planning and recovery maintenance, goal setting, parent child activities, tips for advocacy, and supports specific to non-custodial parents.

The FIRST Steps: My Family Portfolio helps users navigate their own recovery journey and work towards creating a fulfilling and positive life for themselves and their families. It’s a tool crafted by people who understand the challenges of recovery, with the intention of making the process smoother and more manageable for others in similar situations.

FIRST STEPS: My Family Portfolio Provider Guide

The FIRST STEPS: My Family Portfolio Provider Guide can help providers walk alongside families as they complete their portfolio.

This guide is designed specifically for providers (such as counselors, social workers, or peer professionals) to help them effectively use and utilize the resource it accompanies. The goal is for these providers to make the most of the resource in their work with families and individuals. Additionally, the guide encourages providers to not only use the resource themselves but also to share it widely with other families and professionals who might benefit from it.

Taking the FIRST Steps Together: A Guide to Creating Collaborative Peer-Led Services for Parents Affected by Substance Use

This comprehensive guide highlights our learnings from creating a strengths-based, person-centered, and trauma-informed program to serve families impacted by parental substance use across Massachusetts. This resource is for anyone interested in embarking on, or expanding, their work in peer-led programs that serve families.

This guide is the compilation of the theory, practice, process and experiences of so many who are doing this rewarding, and at times exhausting, work every day. We received input from content experts across the field and we paid special attention to the voices of those with lived expertise and those who represent often marginalized populations within the recovery community. It’s divided into 3 sections, Building the Foundation, Serving Families, and the My Family Portfolio & Provider Guide

Chapter 1.1: Foundational Concepts and Theory

When building a house, there is a reason that the foundation is poured first. It is the solid ground upon which all else is built.

In this chapter, we will begin to explore some of the foundational concepts and learnings our program is built on, including the essential, valuable role peer staff bring in leading this work. Additionally, we will examine the intersections of trauma, substance use, and parenting, and highlight the impact of trauma-informed, healing-centered approaches delivered by peer staff in the home setting. In using the FIRST Steps Together approach, we aim to strengthen parent-child relationships, empower families, and support both parenting and recovery journeys.

Chapter 1.2: Preparing the Organization

Peer recovery support programs thrive when built within organizations that deeply value the unique lens of lived experience.

At FIRST Steps Together, we understand and promote a recovery-oriented culture at all levels; from direct services and staff supervision to community partnerships and organizational leadership. This dedication is seen throughout our culture, values, policies, and procedures. This webinar will explore the importance of recovery-oriented systems and organizations, promoting wellness, recovery, and self-care, prioritizing staff wellness to prevent burnout and crisis response.

Chapter 1.3: Recruiting, Hiring and Training

Relationships are the catalyst to change and central to our work. Building successful, collaborative relationships begins with recruiting, hiring, and training new staff.

In this chapter, we will focus on how to build a collaborative team and include diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout the process. We will provide insight into hiring candidates who bring lived experience and expertise to working with those parenting in recovery. We will also explore the strengths and benefits of candidates who may not have “traditional” work or educational backgrounds and the qualities and competencies desired for working with families impacted by parental substance use.

Chapter 1.4: Supervision

The most important policy or practice to support staff wellness is supervision.

Regularly receiving supervision improves the services we provide. This results in better care and outcomes for families. All staff benefit from regular encouragement, guidance and feedback from team members and Supervisors. In this webinar we will explore the different types of supervision utilized in FIRST Steps Together with a specific focus on Reflective Supervision and its benefits for both staff and the families they serve

Chapter 2.1: Engagement

The process of engagement often requires a significant investment of time to build trusting relationships.

At FIRST Steps Together, we use the initial engagement period to show potential participants how peer-led services may look and feel different than other services they have previously received. In this webinar we will discuss what that looks like, tools we use during the engagement period and why there may be benefits to an extended engagement period for parents who have a history of substance use.

Chapter 2.2: Home Visiting

Providing services in the home setting allows families to receive uniquely tailored parenting and recovery supports they might not otherwise be able to access.

In this chapter, we will explore the benefits of home visiting and how we use the FIRST Steps: My Family Portfolio and open-ended questions to address our areas of focus: recovery, parenting, care coordination and meeting concrete needs.

Tools:

Chapter 2.3: Planning and Facilitating Groups

Community is one of SAMHSA’s four major dimensions that support recovery. SAMHSA defines community as “having relationships and social networks that provide support, friendship, love, and hope.”

In order to thrive as parents and people in recovery, we need community, accountability, and non-judgmental support. We need to hear from others who are walking the same path, to see that they are doing it and that it can be done. This is one of the many reasons groups are a foundational aspect of our program.

Chapter 2.4: Care Coordination and Collaboration

Care coordination requires building relationships in a proactive and thoughtful way and is fundamental to supporting parents in recovery.

Families affected by substance use are often balancing multiple service providers and appointments. Through effective care coordination, we can come together with the family to make sure their services are aligned with their goals and their basic needs are being met. Our goal is to create a seamless system of care for parents and expectant parents working towards recovery.

Chapter 3.1 & 3.2: My Family Portfolio and My Family Portfolio Provider Guide

This collection of tools and resources provides a holistic approach to building both parenting and recovery skills for families impacted by parental substance use. Parents, empowered by the support of their providers, can use these materials to think through how their recovery relates to their parenting and how caring for their own needs can strengthen their relationship with their children.

Download from FIRST Steps
FIRST Steps Guide 2
FIRST Steps Together
FIRST Steps Portfolio Download
FIRST Step Guide Download​
Skip to content