Safety Without Sobriety: Preserving Connection when Substance Use is Present
Includes a Live Web Event on 02/24/2026 at 11:00 AM (MST)
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- Foster Parent (Colorado) - Free!
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- Non-certified Kin Parent (Colorado) - Free!
- Certified Kin Parent (Colorado) - Free!
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- Speaker - Free!
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Substance use is present in many child welfare cases, yet children’s relationships with their parents remain central to healing, attachment, and long-term stability. This training helps caregivers understand how safety and connection are balanced when substance use is part of a family’s story.
Devin Sweat, a public health advisor, will provide education on common substances currently impacting families and how substance use may affect behavior, regulation, and parent–child interaction. This portion of the training focuses on understanding substance use without placing caregivers in the role of assessment or enforcement.
Kathy Ramirez, Family Time Program Supervisor for Adams County, will share how child welfare systems preserve parent–child relationships while prioritizing safety. She will explain how supervision, safety planning, and role clarity allow connection to continue even when sobriety is not required, and how concerns are addressed within the system.
This class emphasizes trauma-informed practice, realistic expectations, and preserving connection without compromising safety. Caregivers will leave with a clearer understanding of their role, how safety is managed, and how to support children emotionally before, during, and after family interactions in ways that reduce trauma and strengthen trust.
Hours earned: 1.0
Devin Sweat. LAC, LSW
Devin Sweat (she/her) is a Master of Social Work (MSW), Licensed Social Worker (LSW), and Licensed Addictions Counselor (LAC). She has worked in the substance use field for 15 years in a variety of settings and roles including residential treatment, a homeless youth shelter, withdrawal management, case management, integrated behavioral health, medication assisted treatment, grants management, and federal policy. She currently works at Aurora Mental Health and Recovery as the Clinical Manager of the withdrawal management program. Devin is passionate about serving the underserved and advocating for true person-centered care.
Kathy Ramirez, LCSW
Ongoing Child Protection Supervisor
Hello, I’m Kathy Ramirez, Family Time Supervisor for Adams County Dept. of Human Services. I’ve been a child welfare professional for 20 years and began my career with Adams County in 2006. I spent 8 years as a permanency caseworker, did a very brief stint as a family team meeting facilitator, was a permanency supervisor for 6 years and have been in my current role with family time for 4 years. I obtained my bachelor’s degree in social work from Colorado State University, my master’s degree in social work from University of Nevada, Las Vegas and am a licensed clinical social worker.
My passion for family time began during graduate school at UNLV, while completing my internship at Donna’s House Central. In my role as a visitation monitor, I supervised communal family time sessions with high-risk domestic violence offenders who were Court Ordered for supervised time with their children. Providing children with physically and emotionally safe space to experience time with their parents was incredibly rewarding and it promoted needed healing for the children we supervised.
Over the past 20 years, I’ve had a front row seat to watch how parent/child contact has evolved from passive supervised visitation to hands on, parent coaching and beyond. Through our current model, our intention is to help parents identify their child’s needs, recognize their own strengths, be willing to develop new skills and engage in treatment to address child protection concerns. We are highly aware that a parent’s level of engagement in family time can directly impact their participation and willingness for change in a case.
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