The opioid crisis, which killed more than 63,000 people in 2016, is affecting issues and policies beyond law enforcement and health care.

No matter the topic of discussion with constituents, from education to transportation, “we always end up talking about addiction and what is happening in our small communities,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, said at a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing Thursday focused on the crisis’s impact on children and families.

The session, in a packed-to-capacity hearing room, focused on problems ranging from the need for better care for babies born addicted to opiates, to how to reform the foster care system and try to keep families together while protecting vulnerable children.

Senators Thursday focused on a wide range of issues, including:

  1. The need to better educate teenagers about the dangers of opioids: Teens don’t understand that legally prescribed medicine, misused or used by people for whom it wasn’t intended, can be just as lethal as street drugs, said Becky Savage, founder of the 525 Foundation.
  2. Additional school-based programs: Mental health programs and after-school, community-based programs will be essential for helping prevent teenage use of opioids, witnesses said. “Schools have always been and should continue to be a core frontline institution in whatever ailments we’re [seeing] in our communities,” said William Bell, president and CEO of Casey Family Programs, a foundation focused on reducing the need for foster care.

Schools should also change their approach toward discipline, from one of policing to one of protection, Bell said.

Read the full article about tackling the opioid crisis through education by Carolyn Phenicie at The 74.