NCJ Number
147030
Journal
Child Welfare Volume: 73 Issue: 1 Dated: (January/February 1994) Pages: 83-94
Date Published
1994
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This report examines a demonstration project in its second of three years which is aimed at preventing the abuse of children in homes in which substance abuse is a problem.
Abstract
This report reviews the literature that has found an increased risk of child abuse in homes in which a parent is a substance abuser. Child and Family Agency of Southeastern Connecticut received funding from the United States Department of Health and Human Services to develop and evaluate an emergency response service to prevent the children of substance abusers from being abused. This article examines this demonstration program in its second year. The program has several components but the article focuses on the home based counseling unit within the clinical services division. The goals of the project, known as Emergency Services Child Abuse Prevention Program (ESCAPP), are to identify homes in which substance abuse is occurring before child abuse has occurred, to provide quick access to services that will help stabilize the situation, and to improve the chance for a long-term positive outcome by providing ongoing support and services. Steps that have been taken to accomplish each of these goals are addressed. At this writing, it was too soon to draw conclusions about the overall effectiveness of the project, but observations are made about the successes and difficulties that have been encountered to date. 1 figure