321,566 children in the US lost a parent to substance use-related death from 2011-2021 (NIDA, 2024, May 8). Substance-related deaths present unique challenges that create complexities that may look beyond the traditional grief timeline. When a parent dies from substance-use related death, suicide related to drugs or alcohol, or complications from substance use, children can face “disenfranchised grief”; loss that society deems less worthy of support due to stigma and moral judgment.

These deaths often come after years of anticipatory grief, when children have already been mourning the parent who felt absent even while alive. What follows can be a tangle of emotions—shame from stigma, relief, anger, or confusion about how to grieve someone whose substance use caused deep harm. For some, there is ambivalence: the parent may not be missed at all, yet the loss still reshapes their story. This complexity challenges the idea that grief always equals love, reminding us that children’s experiences are never one-dimensional.

This 90-minute experiential presentation introduces four specialized activities from the Circle of Care Intervention Activity Book, curated and developed by the presenter, specifically for children grieving substance-related deaths. Along with familiar supportive bereavement activities, these highlighted interventions address discovering agency amongst ambiguous loss and internalized stigma often accompanied in substance-affected families.

Utilizing activities that address this intersectionality, participants will have the opportunity to be fully engaged with activities and explore adaptation for their practice and programs. To extend learning beyond the session, all attendees will receive an e-book containing 30 additional interventions for substance-affected families and children impacted by substance-related deaths, providing a comprehensive resource for continued integration into their work.

Continuing Education (CE) Credits: 1.5 continuing education credits pending
Target Audience: Counselors, Social workers, Bereavement support professionals, school professionals
Instructional Level:Intermediate – This best describes a topic or issue that the audience likely has a theoretical foundation for understanding and/or a working knowledge
Format: Live Interactive Webinar

Cost: Free for NACG Members; $60 for Guests without CEs, $75 for Guests with CEs

Not currently a member? Become a NACG member today! Your membership will provide access to free monthly webinars with CEs on current topics to support you in your work, discounts on educational events, access to all webinar playbacks, and more. To learn more and become a member to access this webinar for no additional cost, visit HERE →

After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:

• Identify and assess the intersection of unique characteristics of substance-related grief in children, including disenfranchised grief, post-traumatic growth, and the intersection of ongoing trauma with death-related loss.
• Implement four specialized evidence-based activities from the guide to support children in processing contradictory feelings, integrating complex memories, and navigating family conflicts around memorializing substance-using adults.
• Access a comprehensive resource guide of grief and trauma-informed activities that can be adapted and implemented in individual practice, group settings, or organizational programming for children affected by substance-related death and family dysfunction

Speaker Bio:

Jessica Porte, MA, is a grief educator, consultant, and founder of Wayfinder Family Co., dedicated to supporting children, families, and organizations navigating the complex emotional impact of loss, substance use, and transition. With over 14 years in the nonprofit sector, she began her career in hospice running and supporting school programs, community grief groups, and bereavement camps for children. In addition, she spent over six years with Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation’s Children’s Program as a Children’s Counselor, supporting youth impacted by a loved one’s substance use disorder, and now consults and trains with other wrap-around and treatment programs.

Central to Jessica’s work is recognizing that systems meant to support children and families must be healthy, accessible, and responsive to community gaps. She designs programs, leadership strategies, and training initiatives that strengthen organizational resilience while fostering psychologically safe spaces for staff and families alike.

Certified in Psychological First Aid and trained in LEGO® Serious Play®, Jessica blends thanatology, psychology, and innovative learning methods to transform grief from a hidden cost into a pathway for connection, growth, and adaptation. She has supported communities recovering from crises and leads statewide initiatives like Illinois’ Circle of Care, helping organizations better serve families affected by substance use-related loss.

Supported by the philanthropic investment
of the New York Life Foundation.

Continuing Education (CE) Provider Information:

Each professional is responsible for the individual requirements as stipulated by their licensing agency. Please contact your individual licensing board/regulatory agency to review continuing education requirements for licensure renewal. Please note: You must attend “live” (in real-time) to earn CEs. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the CE process, please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688.

The National Alliance for Children’s Grief has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7221. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.5 contact hours.

The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0689. Social Workers completing this course will receive 1.5 contact hours.

The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0238. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.5 contact hours.

National Alliance for Children’s Grief, #1819, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers.  State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. National Alliance for Children’s Grief maintains responsibility for this course.  ACE provider approval period: 07/20/2023 – 07/20/2026. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.5 continuing education credits.

Refund/cancellation policy: If you need to cancel your registration, please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688. Please note that no refunds will be given.

To request accessibility accommodations: The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is committed to providing universal access to all our events. Please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688 to request disability accommodations. Advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility needs.

Attendance policy: To earn CEs for this event, you must attend the entirety of the event as demonstrated by your autogenerated login and logout time on the Zoom Webinar report and complete an online event evaluation within seven (7) days of the event. Please make sure you are signed into Zoom using the name that matches your professional license and not the name of your place of employment, as there is no way to verify your attendance after the fact if your name does not appear on the Zoom Webinar report. CE certificates will be sent out within 30 days of the educational event. The link for your certificate will come from “certificates@simplecert.net” as the National Alliance for Children’s Grief. Please be sure to add this email to your “safe sender list”. The NACG is unable to process certificates after 90 days from the date of the event. 

CE Certificate retrieval request: The NACG maintains continuing education records for at least six years from the date of completion of the educational event which include: the name and curriculum vitae of the presenter, a record of attendance, an outline of the course, date, and location of the course, and the number of hours for completion of the course. If you attended a CE educational event and need a copy of your CE certificate, please complete this form to obtain a copy: https://nacg.wufoo.com/forms/qfsln7r1twqpty/. Please note if the education event was more than 90 days ago, and a required evaluation was not completed, a certificate cannot be provided per the policy.

Grievance policy:  To view the NACG’s Continuing Education Grievance Policy, you can find it HERE. Please complete THIS form to share a grievance with the NACG regarding a continuing education event.