Hanley’s new Family Program for Children will operate in southern Palm Beach County as Kids EXPLORE, a weekly, two-hour program for children affected by substance use disorder.
Through a grant from Impact 100 Palm Beach County, Hanley Foundation has partnered with Palm Beach State College and the KOP Mentoring Network to expand its free Family Program for Children to southern Palm Beach County. The program will operate under the name Kids EXPLORE (Experiential Pathways for Learning, Overcoming, Resilience, and Empowerment), and will be a weekly, two-hour program for children ages 7 to 12 over the course of six weeks. The program will focus on children who have been impacted by parental alcohol or substance use, including those involved with child welfare.
The curriculum for Kids EXPLORE will be adapted from Hanley’s Family Program for Children, which was designed in partnership with the National Association for Children of Addiction (NACoA) and launched in November 2024. This specially designed child-centered program aims to provide a supportive and nurturing environment for children to learn, heal, and develop resilience. Through interactive and experiential learning sessions, the program provides a safe space for children to process emotions and fears, to learn about addiction as a disease, to practice self-care strategies, to understand that they are not alone, and that addiction and traumatic circumstances are not their fault.
“Changing the narrative around family addiction and trauma is crucial, and our goal is to build resiliency among children affected by familial substance use,” said Dr. John Dyben, chief clinical officer with Hanley Foundation. “Many children may believe that they are to blame for the difficult situations affecting them and their families. Kids EXPLORE helps them understand that they are not the problem, and that they are worthy of love and care.”
Hanley Foundation and NACoA initially developed the children’s program with Jerry Moe, MA, a renowned author, speaker, and consultant who serves as the senior clinical advisor at NACoA. Moe is nationally recognized for contributing to the creation of Karli, the Sesame Street Muppet whose family grapples with addiction. A passionate advocate for children affected by addiction, Moe helped develop the program’s framework to address the critical issues children and their families face.
According to NACoA, 1 in 8 children live in families with a parent or caregiver with substance use disorder. These children are three times more likely to experience physical, emotional, or sexual abuse, and are eight times more likely to develop substance use disorder as an adult.
Starting in July, the Kids EXPLORE program will be offered six times per year, serving 10 to 15 children during each six-week session of the program. The programming will take place at community partner locations in southern Palm Beach County spanning from Boca Raton to Lake Worth. Hanley Foundation will oversee the program with Palm Beach State College (PBSC) by engaging undergraduate students from programs in PBSC’s Human Services and Social & Behavioral Sciences studies to complete fieldwork. This will help foster community connections and grow the behavioral health workforce. Participants will be recruited and can register.
The KOP Mentoring Network’s mission is to provide students with the tools they need to prepare for prosperous futures. Through its academy and camp experiences, KOP guides students along an exciting path of exploration and discovery. They learn new skills, visit new places, and meet new people – all while developing the discipline, dedication, and character needed not just to graduate, but to accelerate both academically and behaviorally.
