The Parent Mentor Program

Parental Substance Use is among the most common reasons families become involved in the child welfare system. our Parent Mentors are hired specifically to mentor other parents through their lived experiences. Parent Mentors share a common experience with Child Welfare and recovery from substance use with the parents they work with, and this creates the foundation for meaningful conversations and a trusting relationship that in turn leads to effective engagement in treatment and services.

Parent Mentors can empathize and support parents entering treatment, maintaining sobriety, and reuniting with their children. They are familiar with the many roads to recovery and can support parents through all stages of recovery.

In support of parents, Mentors can:

• accompany parents to court hearings, family decision meetings, and team decision meetings
• maintain contact with parents during treatment or incarceration
• introduce parents to 12-step meetings or other recovery-based meetings
• assist parents with access to community resources
• guide parents through the stress of parenting in recovery
• help parents learn to advocate for themselves and their children
• provide encouragement and support as the parent navigates the child welfare system

In partnership with KEEP, Morrison’s Parent Mentor Program offers parenting support programs for birth families who are or have been involved in Child Welfare.

Parent Advocacy

Morrison Parent Mentors strongly believe in the importance of system-wide advocacy and are involved in many local, regional, and state-wide efforts to effectively support the needs of parents and their children. Mentors serve on the Child Welfare Advisory Board, Governor’s Foster Care Advisory Committee, and the Foster America Advisory Board.

Parent Advisory Council

Parent Mentors are involved with The Parent Advisory Council of Oregon which was formed in 2015 to provide valuable insight and guidance to the executive leadership of Oregon’s Department of Human Services Child Welfare on strategies to improve the overall well-being of children and families. The Parent Advisory Council is comprised of parents from Oregon with prior Child Welfare involvement because of substance abuse, resulting in temporary removal of their children. All PAC members have navigated their DHS case and are actively parenting their children. PAC members identify services gaps and advocate for allocation of funding for critical family support services.

PAC members are currently making valuable contributions to their communities advocating for parents entering the Child Welfare System and giving back to those who supported them in their journey to recovery. They bring personal perspectives and insight regarding services they believe parents would participate in and value. They are uniquely qualified to represent the voices of parents navigating the Child Welfare System – understanding the hopelessness and guilt parents feel when faced with challenges of making significant personal change and achieving reunification with their children.

With the support of Morrison Parent Mentors, many local communities have started their own Parent Advisory Council to address specific to that region and form collaborative relationships with local ODHS Leadership.