Ms. Baston has more than 38 years of experience in the prevention and treatment of behavioral health disorders. She is the former Director of Florida's substance abuse agency, where she managed one of the nation's largest state behavioral health service systems. At JBS, she currently leads an innovative state project with the child welfare system to identify and engage opioid-using parents, and align treatment and family court strategies. She is also an expert in evidence-based treatment practices for mothers and other women with behavioral health disorders and HIV/AIDS.
Pamela Baston MPA, MCAP, CPP
Technical Expert Lead
“The opioid epidemic is a very serious crisis that is taking the child welfare system by storm — it’s like a tsunami. It’s overwhelming the judicial system, it’s overwhelming the child welfare caseloads, and it’s overwhelming the foster care system. My goal is to help staff working in these systems have a better understanding of the complexity of opioid addiction so that they can help parents and children without oversimplifying the solutions.”