Mental health articles

Substance Abuse and the Child Welfare System Estimates suggest that up to 50–80 % of parents who are involved with the child welfare system have substance abuse problems Children living in homes with substance abuse have a higher risk of maltreatment and neglect due to parental inability to provide adequate shelter, care, and economic stability for their children. Substance abusing parents often have impaired judgment and emotional dysregulation contributing to increased child abuse potential . This combination of factors results in a greater likelihood that addicted mothers involved with the child welfare system will lose their parental rights compared with their non-addicted cohorts. Substance abusing mothers with child welfare system involvement present for treatment with a different clinical profile than other substance abusing mothers. They often present with less severity, likely because it is earlier in the course of their illness, but have a greater level of employment and economic problems and higher likelihood of referral through the criminal justice or other systems. These women also tend to be younger and have a greater number of children than other substance abusing mothers.

Tags: substance abuse