Mothers learn how to stop drug addiction — and regain custody of children — at Brentwood program

In the  throes of addictio n, Laura Mullen dropped off her roughly 10-year-old son, Darius, at her mother’s home in what she describes as a "life or death" decision.

"I had to make that decision to walk away for my life and to give my son some chance at life," said Mullen, who now lives in Patchogue.

Mullen, then in her 20s, said she was being physically abused by her son’s stepfather because she had started using drugs again after being prescribed pain pills for a work accident. After she left her son, the boy was placed in foster care. Mullen said she then descended into a six-year stint living on the streets of Central Islip while using crack cocaine and heroin.

But while incarcerated for drug felonies, Mullen heard about a Brentwood program where women battling addiction could gain the life skills to resume caring for their children. After rehab, Mullen began navigating her recovery as a mother at Outreach’s Recovery Residence for Women.

The program, she said, was pivotal in supporting a reunion with her son and "helping me to feel like a human being."

"Really becoming more self-aware and learning myself while I was here is really what they helped me to do," said Mullen, who also describes herself as a survivor of human trafficking. "Learn why I was using. Learn about my trauma."

At the Brentwood facility, women navigate a recovery journey marked with employment woes, substance use disorders and mental health challenges. Often, wrapped deeply inside those struggles lies a motherhood complicated by addiction.

Reunification with their children, some of whom are in foster care, means sometimes protracted legal processes that may hinge on completing drug treatment programs, which often have waitlists, and learning to parent better.

Child welfare officials say removals occur only after courts determine children face significant risks and that reunification requires demonstrating long-term stability.

‘We're the mothers’

The center, which houses about 20 women, may provide a bridge of support through such activities as family counseling and recovery planning. Women can live at the facility for about a month, then possibly move into the reintegration phase for three to six months. The program costs roughly $2 million to run annually, with funding from the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports, Medicaid and commercial insurance, as well as other supportive funding sources, staff said.

Stephanie Laureano, program director at Outreach’s Recovery Residence for Women, said recovery is particularly challenging for mothers because society sees them as caregivers. 

"We're the mothers, we're the nurturers, you know, we are viewed as, 'You should know better,' " Laureano said in an interview with Newsday. "So the shame and the stigma that comes with it, you know, that's a big hurdle for them in their recovery." 

Mullen said she mentally carried the facts that her mother didn't live to see her become sober and that she grew up in a large household where alcohol and drug use were common. She said she wanted better for Darius, who was in her sister's custody. 

But she said she had still been using drugs before entering the program, and Darius was struggling in high school. She eventually intervened by visiting him at school and spending more time with him, hoping her presence would prompt him to finish school. It did, and he studied at Suffolk County Community College.

The program, she said, pulled her life back together. Among art classes and other activities that taught her what life without addiction looks like, she started therapy with her son and her sister. 

"It didn't matter to my son what I was doing, where I was at, his love for me never changed, he never judged me," she said. "And I think that was really touching to me throughout my journey of sobriety."

Just last year, she graduated from the outpatient portion. Today, she lives with her son, now 25, a grandchild and a step-grandchild.

"We are still healing," she said.

Losing custody of children

Across the country, an estimated 29% of children who ended up in foster care in 2025 had a parent struggling with substance use disorder, according to federal data. The biggest reason why children were removed from their parents was neglect, which accounted for 55% of kids taken into state custody. 

On Long Island, the number of children in foster care in Suffolk County grew from 389 to 514 from 2022 to 2025, according to data from the state Office of Children and Family Services. Nassau also saw an increase in those years, from 124 to 180.

In both counties, most children in foster care go home — about 66% in Suffolk and some 70% in Nassau, according to the state.

Family treatment courts — judicial programs that help parents facing drug and alcohol addiction who could permanently lose custody of their children — often pave the way to reunification through court appearances, strengthening parenting skills and drug abstinence, officials said. Despite the assistance, parents navigating addiction sometimes face difficulties in getting into treatment on Long Island, child advocates say.

Theo Liebmann, clinical professor of law and director of the Youth Advocacy Clinic at Hofstra University, said parents, lawyers and judges often try to pressure the Department of Social Services to secure a spot in an appropriate program to keep the reunification process moving.

"Everyone gets frustrated when you have a family and a parent who wants to engage in services, who wants to do what's being asked to get their child back, but they can't because those resources are scarce and they have to wait until they're available," Liebmann said.

At the Brentwood facility, the first step to getting a mother reunified with her child is to create a recovery plan anchored in helping women demonstrate stability in their recovery as well as housing and employment assistance. The residence, which opened during the pandemic, works closely with the courts and connects women with legal services as needed.

Beyond logistical assistance, the program offers creative ways to address trauma, including yoga and art instruction. 

Laureano said those activities help women overcome one of the biggest hurdles: "starting the process of feeling."

"How does this pain feel, you know, identifying it, coming to terms with it and almost embracing it at the same time, because we don't want them to run from that. We want them to be able to walk into that and work through it," Laureano said.

‘They belong with me’

After 28 days in rehab, Brookhaven resident Brandi Curiale, the mother of two 7-year-old boys, came to Outreach’s recovery residence. Curiale, 44, said she was initially separated from her children after leaving a violent marriage. Her husband lost custody of the then-5-year-old children and died a few months later, she said.

Child Protective Services, she said, would not give her custody of her children because she had left them with her husband, who used drugs. The situation led her back to using drugs, a habit she had picked up for dealing with stress.

"I've gotten sober before ... and it just wasn't enough, because every time something goes wrong, that was my way to cope. I didn't know how else to cope," she said.

Outreach's residence held her hand as she was forced to get sober to get back custody of her children — helping her build skills as she confronted court dates.

"I always say that this is my church. This program is my No. 1 resource. ... It gave me the skills that I needed to get my kids back that I didn't know I was lacking in the first place," she said.

In February, Curiale regained full legal custody of the boys. Together, they live a different life — one where she has more gratitude and patience. Her boys, she said, love to run around the house and play with their dogs and other pets. They greet her every morning with hugs, largely unaware of the odyssey she had to go through to have them at home.

"They're my children; they belong with me. No one's going to love them like me," she said. "I just had to battle my demons."