Custody of Cocaine-Exposed Newborns: Determinants of Discharge Decisions

• NCJ Number: 165672
• Journal: American Journal of Public Health Volume: 83 Issue: 12 Dated: (December 1993) Pages: 1726-1729
• Author(s): D R Neuspiel; T M Zingman; V H Templeton; P DiStabile; E Drucker
• Date Published: 1993
• Length: 4 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Free online PDF and HTML access to the American Journal of Public Health is provided by the publisher 24 months after individual issues are released.

Annotation

Factors related to decisions about custody of infants born to cocaine-abusing women upon discharge from the hospital were studied using data from 99 consecutive infants discharged from a public hospital in New York City.

Abstract

Forty-nine percent of the participants were black and 40 percent were Hispanic. Custody at discharge was to mothers (38 percent), other family members (25 percent), or agency foster care (36 percent). Placement outside the family was greater when mothers had prior child welfare records, in black families, when the mother had received no prenatal care, and when mothers were younger at their first delivery or older at the birth of the current child. Denial of custody to the mothers was higher with prior child welfare involvement, in blacks, and when the mother did not live in her own home. The findings were controlled for the number of children, the child's sex, and birth weight. Findings suggest the need to reexamine current policies and practices, because earlier involvement with child welfare authorities, race, and other factors predict the continuing separation of mothers and children at newborn discharge. Tables and 20 references (Author abstract modified)