DFPS partner organizations across Texas are reporting increasing concerns about opioid abuse in their communities.
Did you know?
• Seventy eight Americans die every day from an opioid overdose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• The American Society of Addiction Medicine states that of the 20.5 million Americans age 12 or older who had a substance use disorder in 2015, 2 million had a substance use disorder involving prescription pain relievers and 591,000 had a substance use disorder involving heroin.
• The CDC found that from 1999 to 2014, more than 165,000 people have died in the U.S. from overdoses related to prescription opioids. In 2014, more than 14,000 people died from overdoses involving prescription opioids.
Resources are available to address the challenge of opioid abuse.
• Websites include drugabuse.gov, harmreduction.org and onlifesterms.org.
• A "Mommies Toolkit" (PDF) funded by DSHS helps agencies connect families impacted by neonatal abstinence syndrome to services and local resources.
• PEI partners with The Ounce of Prevention Fund, which offers online training courses. Registration is required, and courses are free for anyone who registers through this link. 
Offerings include the self-paced course "Challenges in Home Visiting: Substance Abuse," and the webinar "Understanding Substance Abuse through the Family Lens."
The webinar takese place from noon to 1 p.m. CST on Jan. 19, and discusses ways to recognize a family's values and strengths when working with a family impacted by substance abuse.

Registration is now open for the 2017 Community IMPACT meeting hosted by PEI.
The conference will take place on Wednesday, Feb. 15 through Friday, Feb. 17 at the Royal Sonesta Houston Galleria hotel, 2222 West Loop S, Houston, TX 77027.
Reserve your room by Feb. 1. Guests may use this web link or call 855-463-3091 using group code 0214HEALTH.
Conference registration is free and open to all early childhood stakeholders. Registration closes Feb. 1.
The conference is a multi-day training opportunity for community-based early childhood coalitions. It will be focus on: recognizing trends and disparities in infant health; achieving health equity at the local level; building community, faith-based, and city/county collaborations; and the importance of engaging community leadership.
After the conference, the PEI Early Childhood team will host a provider meeting from 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Friday, Feb. 17. The Early Childhood team will give updates to PEI contract leads. Lunch will be provided. Please RSVP to the provider meeting with your Program Specialist.

Baylor Scott & White Medical Center-Hillcrest's Nurse-Family Partnership is working with first-time parents to improve health outcomes for children.
Thirty-one percent of the City of Waco's residents are dealing with the cycle of poverty. The urban Waco region of McLennan County has a teen pregnancy rate—22.7 percent—larger than that of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.
Watch the new video featuring stories from parents.