NCJ Number
228297
Journal
Future of Children Volume: 19 Issue: 2 Dated: Fall 2009 Pages: 147-168
Date Published
2009
Length
22 pages
Annotation
This paper examines the extent to which social policy should be broadly concerned with parental alcohol and other drug abuse (AODA) as a child well-being matter beyond safety and permanency concerns.
Abstract
In a reflection of research findings, evidence to date suggests that substance-abusing parents pose no greater risk to their children than do parents of other children taken into child protective custody. It was concluded that investing in parental recovery from substance abuse and dependence should not substitute for a comprehensive approach that addresses the multiple social and economic risks to child well-being beyond the harms associated with parental substance abuse. Even though evidence is strong linking alcohol and other drug abuse with child maltreatment, the question remains whether substance abuse causes maltreatment. Mixed findings among the research suggest that almost all the parents face not only substance abuse problems but co-occurring issues as well. It is recommended that interventions to prevent substance abuse-related maltreatment attend to the underlying direct causes of both. 1 figure and 70 endnotes