Responding to the need for greater support for parents and caregivers of young people impacted by substance use, a group of parents and caregivers from Victoria, B.C., worked with CCSA to co-design a local parent handbook, Parents like us: the unofficial survival guide to parenting a young person with a substance use disorder.

It was created as part of the Improving Treatment Together (ITT) Project with our project partners Foundry Central Office and Foundry Victoria. Seeing the reach and impact the Parents Like Us handbook had in Victoria, CCSA wanted to spread the reach of this type of resource to other areas of Canada. As a pilot project, we partnered with the Sault Ste. Marie Hospital to adapt this handbook for the needs of caregivers in their Ontario region.

Using the Victoria and Sault Ste Marie experiences as a guide, we developed the adaption toolkit. The toolkit offers communities the processes, considerations and resources they need to adapt their own version of the handbook. To make the process easier, users can request a templated version of the handbook, which includes modifiable text from the original Parents Like Us handbook. The request can be made by filling out and submitting the request form within the adaption toolkit.

This toolkit is intended for professionals, caregivers and caregiver allies who want to create their own version of the Parents Like Us handbook in their communities with families and caregivers leading the process. The experiences and voices of parents and caregivers are paramount to this resource and any future versions. Any adaptation efforts must prioritize the leadership and inclusion of parents and caregivers in each step of the process. This toolkit will provide resources to help with this process.

Remember, the Adaptation Toolkit is a process, not a product.

• The adaptation process p.6
• Step 1: identify community need for an adapted handbook p.6
• Step 2: identify lead organization and secure buy-in and dedicated resources (staff, budget, etc.), to complete the adaptation p.6
• Step 3: identify parent or caregiver champion in the community to support the adaptation p.7
• Step 4: recruit and partner with parents and caregivers from the community p.7
• Step 5: co-host adaptation sessions with parents and caregivers from the community p.7
• Step 6: adjust the handbook based on what you heard during adaptation sessions p.8
• Step 7: publish and share (and celebrate!) The adapted handbook p.9
• Step 8: evaluate the adapted handbook p.9
• Template request p.9