About Plymouth County DECI
In 2022, Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz’s office was awarded a 3-year grant totaling $1,185,239.00 from the Department of Justice’s COSSUP: Drug Endangered Children’s Initiative (DECI) Grant.
DECI, an initiative of the Plymouth County Drug Abuse Task Force, stems from DA Cruz’s Childhood Trauma Initiative’s Handle with Care Program. This 3 year grant picks up, where our last grant left off. This grant will allow us to sustain and expand our existing DECI program, which we created and established with our Department of Justice’s 2019 Office for Victim’s of Crime (OVC) grant, which ended in 2021.
Objectives:
- Create the Plymouth County DEC Alliance
- Provide direct services and advocacy to drug endangered children within Plymouth County
- Raise awareness for agencies that come into contact with drug endangered children
- Assist agencies in identifying drug endangered children
- Train police and educators on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
- Trainings and resources for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren
Our Partners:
- United Way Family Center
- Plymouth County Outreach (PCO)
- Trauma and Learning Policy Initiative (TLPI)
- Balance 4 Kids
- Calmer Choice
- To the Moon & Back
- Riverside
In 2018, Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz’s Office was awarded a 3-year grant totaling $541,300 from the U.S. Department of Justice Office for Victims of Crime (OVC). The grant was created to address an urgent gap in crime victim services related to the opioid epidemic and to expand upon existing, or to establish new programs to provide services to youth who are victimized as a result of the opioid crisis. District Attorney Cruz through the Educational Subcommittee of the Plymouth County Drug Abuse Task Force will use these critical funds to train law enforcement, schools, and community partners on identifying drug endangered children and developing the proper trauma sensitive response. In addition, District Attorney Cruz will partner with The Family Center at Community Connections of Brockton, a program of the United Way of Greater Plymouth County.
Objectives:
- To enhance the capacity of the Plymouth County Drug Abuse Task Force to address drug endangered children in Plymouth County.
- Increase awareness about drug endangered children in Plymouth County
- Provide direct services and advocacy to Plymouth County drug endangered children.
Our Partners:
- The United Way Family Center
- Plymouth County Outreach
- Trauma and Learning Policy Initiative
United Way of Greater Plymouth County’s Family Center:
- The Family Center will utilize a portion of these grant funds to hire a Clinical Director to work directly with drug endangered children.
- The Clinical Director will work alongside Plymouth County Outreach (PCO), which is an initiative of the Plymouth County Drug Abuse Task Force’s, Public Safety Subcommittee.
- PCO is a collaboration of 28 police departments in Plymouth County dedicated to providing immediate outreach to overdose victims.
Plymouth County DECI was created to bring services and support to families touched by the opioid crisis by providing services directly to the child and family, and by helping to navigate complex systems.
Plymouth County DECI will bring awareness and training to agencies that encounter drug-endangered children and will assist agencies to identify and engage drug-endangered children.
By enhancing the response of our police departments and schools with trauma-informed training and assisting individual families, Plymouth County DECI is helping children become more resilient to break the cycle of addiction.
For more information, contact Jennifer Cantwell, DECI Project Director at the PCDAO 508-584-8120 or via email at: Jennifer.Cantwell@mass.gov
To make a referral, contact Haffie Stevens, DEC Clinical Advocate: (508) 857-3361 x 110 or via email at: hafsatu.stevens@ccbrockton.org
Referral Form
Resources
Drug Endangered Children’s Initiative (DEC) informational flyer
Drug Endangered Children’s brochure
Helping Children Impacted by Parental Substance Use
Trauma Informed Response to Aid Drug-Endangered Children During COVID
