In 1988, Julie Wood Merchant, a licensed clinical art therapist, founded Kids Like Us to help support Frederick County, Maryland children exposed to alcohol and other drug abuse at home. The program began with a call from one school counselor. “She was seeking help for students whose lives were being dramatically and adversely impacted by parents and caregivers using and becoming addicted to crack cocaine. Their grades and spirits were plummeting,” Wood Merchant says. “This opened a door to partner with schools to support children affected by substance abuse.” Today, Kids Like Us serves more than 200 fourth through eighth graders each year.
Kids Like Us operates within the Frederick County Health Department Behavioral Health Services Division with funding through SAMHSA’s Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment (SAPT) Block Grant. Implemented in 26 schools across the county, this school-based program and its arts-integrated summer day camp offer students impacted by familial substance abuse a safe and confidential way to receive the help they need. In sessions co-led by a school counselor and licensed program counselor, participants engage in skill-based lessons, peer support, and expressive art experiences designed to help them handle their feelings in safe ways and make healthy choices about relationships, alcohol, and other drugs. A parent letter and classroom presentation on substance use disorders, recovery, and the impact of substance misuse on families for all fourth graders in participating schools also play a key role in helping to change attitudes and norms related to substance misuse.
“Our goal is to break the cycle of addiction,” says program evaluator Jessica Snell-Johns, a clinical-community psychologist. “The program is rooted in trauma-informed care to support children impacted by loss [of a parent or other family member]—whether due to incarceration, overdose, or emotional absence. Complications for the children often stem from loss that nobody recognizes. The structure, content, and processes of the program are designed, at its heart, to serve a population of children who are grieving silently."
In recent years, the program has adapted to the changing substance misuse prevention landscape—working with schools that are increasingly serving children adversely affected by the opioid crisis and other emerging drug trends. For example, when discussing the concept of “mood-changing drugs,” counselors cover issues related to opioids, e-cigarettes, and synthetic marijuana. The program also connects students and families with overdose response training and naloxone, provided by the health department. School and program counselors also reach out beyond the group sessions to attend funerals in support of youth participants.
Wood Merchant attributes the program’s longevity to the strong collaborative relationships the health department and program staff have built with the county’s school system. “Collaborating school counselors drive program success and provide the majority of our referrals. They also sustain the program in their local schools,” says Wood Merchant.
The collaboration benefits the school system, as well. “These school counselors are a direct pipeline between the schools and other mental health specialists,” Wood Merchant says. “School counselors educate teachers, staff, students, and parents about the effects of substance use disorders in the family, offer resources, and help destigmatize the disease.”
Kids Like Us has also forged close relationships with multiple stakeholders across the community. These connections help to get the word out about the program and establish its credibility. They also help to ensure continuity in care. For example, program staff work closely with the Frederick County Mental Health Association’s case management service, which assists families and children with more complex behavior, development, school, health, or mental health needs. “We recognize that many of our students have needs beyond the scope of our program,” says Wood Merchant. “In these cases, it’s important that we’ve built the community connections needed to ensure that these needs are addressed.”