Child Welfare

Large numbers of children who are placed in child protective custody have parents with a substance use disorder. This placement occurs despite evidence that the trauma of removal is associated with poor long-term child outcomes. This article describes a collaborative model of a continuum of housing-based clinical and support services for the whole family that has safely reduced foster care placement. An external evaluation of this pilot in Jackson County, Oregon, found significant differences in subsequent maltreatment, foster care re-entry, and family permanency outcomes favoring the treatment group...

Family-based in-home treatment can effectively meet the needs of mothers and fathers struggling with the dual challenges of substance abuse recovery and parenting infants and toddlers. This article describes one such program, Family-Based Recovery (FBR), which integrates substance abuse treatment for parents and infant mental health intervention with the goal of preventing child maltreatment and family disruption. Program design, implementation, and results are provided. Outcome data suggest that FBR is a promising model...

Previous studies that have examined the impact of family drug treatment courts (FDTCs) on child welfare outcomes have produced mixed results. This study evaluates the impact of a rural, FDTC collaborative on child welfare outcomes using propensity score analysis. Findings from the study show that children in the treatment group had longer stays in child welfare custody but were substantially less likely to experience future incidents of maltreatment than those in families with parental substance use disorders without these services...

The Sobriety Treatment and Recovery Teams (START) model is designed for families with co-occurring substance use and child maltreatment. This study describes the implementation and outcomes of START in a rural Appalachian county with high rates of poverty, non-medical prescription drug use, and child maltreatment. Despite a severely limited addiction treatment infrastructure at baseline, children served by START were less likely to experience recurrence of child abuse or neglect within 6 months or re-enter foster care at 12 months compared with a matched control group...

Similar to families from other groups, urban-based American Indian and Alaska Native ("Native") family members involved with the child welfare system due to substance abuse issues are also often challenged by untreated trauma exposure. The link between these conditions and the history of genocidal policies aimed at destroying Native family ties, as well as experiences of ongoing discrimination, bring added dimensions for consideration when pro- viding services to these families. Practice-based evidence indicates that the trauma-informed and culturally responsive model developed by the Denver Indian Family Resource Center (DIFRC) shows promise in reducing out-of-home placements and re-referrals in urban Native families with substance abuse and child welfare concerns, while also increasing caregiver capabilities, family safety, and child well-being...

This study is a mixed-methods examination of the prevalence and impact of parental substance abuse among families involved in foster care who have a child with a serious emotional disturbance. Data utilized for this study were both administrative and assessment data collected by case managers and parents as part of a federally funded demonstration project in a Midwestern state. At baseline, parent self-report and case manager ratings of family functioning found that parents affected by substance abuse fared worse in domains related to socioeconomics, parental trauma, parental mental health, and social supports when compared to families without parental substance abuse...

This study analyzed differences in mental health diagnoses among Illinois child welfare-involved youth who have had prenatal substance exposure. Results indicate that youth from the rural area had a significantly higher rate of co-occurring mental health disorders. A multiple regression analysis revealed five significant predictors: living in a rural area, a history of neglect, having Fetal Alcohol Syndrome or an alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder, and age. These results have implications for adapting existing treatment models...

Associated with extensive negative outcomes for children, parental substance use disorders are a major concern within the child welfare system. Obtaining actual prevalence rate data has been difficult, however, and there are no recent published reports on this issue. Using a systematic search, this paper examines: (1) Prevalence estimates of parental substance use disorders in the child welfare population; (2) the types of child welfare involvement for reported prevalence estimates; and (3) how prevalence information is being collected...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

This article describes how Building Strong Families in Rural Tennessee (BS-FinRT) increased hopefulness and helped to promote the policy goal of developing a recovery focus among families with vulnerabilities. These outcomes were achieved by implementing collaborative strategies for addressing issues of child safety, substance use, and family stability. Early analyses of the program's outcomes indicated an unexpected positive influence on parent and child hopefulness. Further analyses found that changes in hope between baseline and discharge correlated positively with changes over the same time period in problem severity, general functioning, and mental health symptomology...

Despite repeated calls for evidence-based practice to address the co-occurring needs of families referred to the child welfare system for parental substance use disorders and child neglect, limited attention has been given to the rigorous evaluation of such interventions. This paper describes the initial testing of an intervention developed to meet the complex needs of such families. The Families Actively Improving Relationships (FAIR) program and preliminary outcomes are described. The need for integrated interventions is highlighted...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Peer mentoring interventions for parents with substance use disorders who are involved with the child welfare system are relatively new, complex, individualized interventions and thus need to be understood both in regard to program efficacy and the processes of how they work. This qualitative study of the experiences of parents involved in a parent mentoring program suggested that certain practices helped motivate parents to think and act in ways that supported their goals and child welfare case plans. The three key mentoring practices that emerged were building caring relationships, providing guidance, and putting parents in charge...

Parental substance abuse presents, complex challenges for the child welfare system and courts. This article describes the State of Connecticut's experience implementing the Recovery Specialist Voluntary Program (RSVP), a recovery support program designed to confront the problem of parental substance abuse within the child welfare system without, a family drug court. The state-level collaboration efforts, system changes, factors affecting development and implementation of RSVP, program participants, and preliminary outcomes are described...

Behavioral changes for 76 adults and 115 children from 62 families participating in a Family Treatment Drug Court (FTDC), in either residential or outpatient settings, were studied. Improvements in psychosocial functioning were calculated using a reliable change index (RCI) for family, adult, and child measures. Among outcomes, significant improvements in family functioning were noted and associated with improvements in child development and the likelihood of reunification. Support for FTDCs and implications for future practice and research are discussed...

Although the evidence is accumulating to substantiate the successes of Family Drug Courts (FDC), there is little research on the relationship between parent compliance and successful reunification of children with their parent(s). This study looked at data from 206 families participating in a FDC in Sacramento County, California. Four compliance measures were examined individually and collectively, after controlling for participant characteristics, using logistic regression models to determine how FDC participation benchmarks impact child reunification...

To date, few studies have examined the effect of interagency collaboration on substance abuse assessment ity of Southern California and treatment completion for parents who are involved in child welfare. The purpose of this paper is to: (1) describe a statewide, interagency collaborative program aimed at providing targeted substance abuse assessment and treatment to parents engaged in the child welfare system; (2) document the specialized assessment and treatment outcomes for parents engaged through this collaborative program; and (3) determine factors related to successful treatment completion for parents involved in the child welfare system...

This study is based on data regarding more than 15,000 families served by 53 federal grantees showing that child safety and permanency, parental recovery, and family well-being improve when agencies work together to address the complex needs of families at the intersection of substance abuse treatment and child welfare. Strategies summarized here offer promising collaborative approaches to mitigate the negative outcomes too often experienced by families impacted by substance use disorders.