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Parental substance abuse is a significant factor in many of the families served in the child welfare system. This article examines: (1) the prevalence of substance abuse among families involved with the child welfare system; (2) the impact of substance abuse on child welfare practice; (3) how both the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 and welfare reform legislation intensify the need to address parental substance abuse effectively; and (4) promising strategies for addressing these families' needs.
Children need safety and stability in their lives. They need nurturing parents who meet their needs consistently When parents abuse alcohol or illicit drugs, their ability to provide appropriate care to their children may be impaired. Addiction to alcohol or other drugs undermines the user's judgment and priorities in ways that may result in child abuse or neglect. One of the few prospective studies of children of substance abusers (in this case alcoholics and opiate addicts) found that nearly all suffered some level of neglect, and one-third of children whose parents abused each substance suffered serious neglect [Black & Mayer 1980]. Somewhat fewer parents abused their children (27% of alcoholic parents and 19% of opiate addicted parents) although these figures were also quite high. For comparison, the most recent National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect [U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 1996] estimated that 1.1% of children nationally suffered abuse in 1993 and 1.3% suffered neglect.
Many studies and reports have recognized that substance abuse is a critical factor in the families involved with the child welfare system [Child Welfare League of America National Commission on Chemical Dependency 1992; Young et al. 1998; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) 1999]. Fewer have articulated the implications of substance abuse for child welfare policy and practice or for the courts that make custody and permanency decisions. The need is clear: child welfare agencies and juvenile dependency courts must have specific strategies to identify and address clients' substance abuse if they are to achieve positive outcomes for children and families. Although children may not be taken into care or may be returned home with an expectation of at least minimal safety, unless the parent has been engaged in a treatment program or is otherwise...