About this Event
Pregnant and parenting people affected by substance use often face stigma and systemic barriers that can impact access to care, family stability and long-term health outcomes. This panel discussion will explore how responses from healthcare and child welfare systems shape those outcomes and how compassionate approaches can better support whole family wellness.
Featuring a Senior Family Services Specialist with Clark County Family Services, a retired registered nurse with over 33 years of experience in maternal-child health, and two individuals in long term recovery with lived experience navigating welfare systems, this conversation will offer both systems and personal perspectives.
Designed for professionals in healthcare, behavioral health, child welfare, and family court systems, this event will explore:
- How stigma impacts trust, engagement, and care
- The role of policy and system responses in family outcomes
- Opportunities to shift from punitive responses to supportive approaches
- Practical ways systems can collaborate to improve outcomes for parents and children
By centering lived experience alongside professional insight, this discussion aims to increase understanding, reduce stigma, and highlight pathways to more effective, family-centered care.
Meet the Panelists
Cassanda J., Senior Family Services Specialist with Clark County Family Services
Cassandra has over five years of experience working directly with families navigating complex challenges, including substance use, mental health, and trauma. Her work is grounded in empathy, accountability, and a deep commitment to supporting families while ensuring child safety. She is passionate about strengthening community understanding and reducing stigma through trauma-informed, culturally responsive practice. Cassandra has built her career in child welfare, where she has progressed into a senior role supporting both families and staff. She has extensive experience in case management, crisis intervention, and trauma-informed care, working with individuals impacted by substance use and behavioral health challenges. In her current role, she provides leadership, trains new staff, and collaborates with multidisciplinary teams to ensure effective and ethical service delivery. Cassandra also serves as a field instructor, mentoring future social workers and helping bridge the gap between education and real-world practice. Her background in substance use treatment settings further strengthens her ability to approach this work with both clinical insight and compassion.
Christine F., Retired RN with 33 years of experience
Christine is a retired registered nurse with over 33 years of experience in maternal-child health, including labor and delivery, postpartum care, home health, and case management as well as childbirth educator and lactation consutant. Beyond her professional work, Christine's path has been shaped by her role as a mother of two children who have navigated substance use and are now in recovery. This experience has deepened her compassion for those facing addiction and their families, and strengthened her belief that with the help of others, and through forgiveness, self-understanding and faith, healing and resilience can emerge.
Steph L., Parent in Recovery
Steph L. is the proud parent of three children and has overcome significant challenges in her life, including mental health, trauma, domestic violence and profound grief. After a peroid of homelessness and substance use, Child Protective Services removed her child from her care and sent her to Seattle. This moment was a turning point in Steph's journey, and she made the decision to take responsibility for her healing and recovery. She focused on treatment, personal growth and demonstrating her commitment to reunification and stability. Through efforts, treatment and accountability, Steph was reunified with her daughter. Together, they built structure, safety and trust, day by day. They now work together in a substance use treatment facility, giving back to others wo are walking the same path they once struggled through.
Victor T., Parent in Recovery
Want to learn more about our panelists? Full bios available here.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Foundation for Recovery Southern Nevada Recovery Community Center, 4800 Alpine Pl., Las Vegas, United States
USD 0.00
