Substance use disorder

Raising safe and healthy children can be difficult for any parent, but parents affected by substance use disorders can find it especially challenging to meet the basic physical, psychological, and emotional needs of their children. And often, the devastation of having their child removed can throw parents deeper into addiction. While substance abuse is not a new challenge, the opioid crisis is placing increasing demands on the child welfare system. Federal data from 2017 found that about 39 percent of children in foster care had been removed due to parental substance abuse.

Identifying substance abuse and meeting the complex needs of parents with substance use disorders and those of their children can be challenging. However, many states are implementing innovative and evidence-informed interventions that are yielding positive results, such as recovery coaches and family-focused residential treatment centers. These kinds of interventions can assist parents as they navigate recovery and build their capacities to be nurturing caregivers.

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What is the impact of substance abuse on child welfare?

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How can Plans of Safe Care help infants and families affected by prenatal substance exposure?

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What are some evidence-based interventions to prevent and mitigate the effects of prenatal substance exposure?

Please explore the related resources below and at Questions from the field to learn more about substance use disorder.

Categorized in: Parents, Prevention, Topical Page

Tagged with: Substance use disorder

Related Resources

What is the National START (Sobriety, Treatment, and Recovery Teams) Model?

Learn how the START model serves families dually affected by parental substance use disorder and involved in the child welfare system.

What is Connecticut’s Family-Based Recovery Program?

This brief describes an innovative program that allows children to remain at home while their parents undergo substance use treatment.

How did Connecticut expand Family-Based Recovery using a social impact bond?

Pay for Success expands a recovery program that allows children to remain at home with parents undergoing treatment for substance use.

How does Native American Connections’ Patina Wellness Center help parents in treatment and recovery stay with their children?

Learn how a residential treatment center is helping tribal parents recover from substance use disorder with their children.

What can you tell us about the Parent-Child Assistance Program?

This home visiting program in Washington state serves high-risk mothers who abuse alcohol and drugs during pregnancy.

Does prenatal substance exposure impact involvement with child protective services during the first year of life?

Learn the findings from a study that explored the relationship between prenatal substance exposure at birth and CPS involvement during the first year of life.

What are family treatment courts and how do they improve outcomes for children and families?

Explore how family treatment courts are a family-centered intervention for families affected by substance use disorder.

How can family-based residential treatment programs help reduce substance use and improve child welfare outcomes?

Learn how family-based residential treatment for parental substance use disorder can keep families together and improve outcomes.

What can we learn from family treatment courts about improving practice for families affected by substance use disorder?

Explore effective strategies for how family treatment courts can improve outcomes for families affected by parental substance use disorder.

What can we learn from family treatment courts to support systems change?

Explore the role that family treatment courts play in being a catalyst for transforming the child welfare system.

What can child protection agencies learn from Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital’s response to infants with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome?

Learn how the Eat, Sleep, Console model promotes healthy parent-child attachment, destigmatizes NAS, and prevents unnecessary interventions.

What is the impact of substance abuse on child welfare?

This list provides key resources for leaders to consider when evaluating the impact of substance abuse on child welfare.

Are decisions to substantiate impacted by caseworkers’ perceptions of domestic violence or parental substance misuse?

Learn the findings from a study that assessed how caseworkers’ perceptions of domestic violence and parental substance use influenced the decision-making.

How can the child welfare system support families affected by substance use disorder?

Learn about the impact of substance use disorder on families, and some strategies and policies to improve outcomes for those affected by it.

What are some evidence-based interventions to prevent and mitigate the effects of prenatal substance exposure?

Learn about evidence-based strategies to mitigate effects of prenatal substance exposure during prenatal, birth, and postpartum periods.

What are some developmentally appropriate interventions for infants and children affected by prenatal substance exposure?

Learn about evidence-based strategies to mitigate effects of prenatal substance exposure and support children across developmental stages.

How can Plans of Safe Care help infants and families affected by prenatal substance exposure?

Learn about strategies for implementing Plans of Safe Care for infants with prenatal substance exposure.

What supports can benefit kinship caregivers in families affected by substance use disorder?

Learn how the child welfare system can support kinship caregivers whose families are affected by substance use disorders.

How can families affected by substance use disorder safely stay together?

Investing in healing interventions for families affected by substance use disorder can promote recovery and mitigate family separation.

Related Resources

What is the National START (Sobriety, Treatment, and Recovery Teams) Model?

Learn how the START model serves families dually affected by parental substance use disorder and involved in the child welfare system.

What is Connecticut’s Family-Based Recovery Program?

This brief describes an innovative program that allows children to remain at home while their parents undergo substance use treatment.

How did Connecticut expand Family-Based Recovery using a social impact bond?

Pay for Success expands a recovery program that allows children to remain at home with parents undergoing treatment for substance use.

How does Native American Connections’ Patina Wellness Center help parents in treatment and recovery stay with their children?

Learn how a residential treatment center is helping tribal parents recover from substance use disorder with their children.

What can you tell us about the Parent-Child Assistance Program?

This home visiting program in Washington state serves high-risk mothers who abuse alcohol and drugs during pregnancy.

Does prenatal substance exposure impact involvement with child protective services during the first year of life?

Learn the findings from a study that explored the relationship between prenatal substance exposure at birth and CPS involvement during the first year of life.

What are family treatment courts and how do they improve outcomes for children and families?

Explore how family treatment courts are a family-centered intervention for families affected by substance use disorder.

How can family-based residential treatment programs help reduce substance use and improve child welfare outcomes?

Learn how family-based residential treatment for parental substance use disorder can keep families together and improve outcomes.

What can we learn from family treatment courts about improving practice for families affected by substance use disorder?

Explore effective strategies for how family treatment courts can improve outcomes for families affected by parental substance use disorder.

What can we learn from family treatment courts to support systems change?

Explore the role that family treatment courts play in being a catalyst for transforming the child welfare system.

What can child protection agencies learn from Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital’s response to infants with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome?

Learn how the Eat, Sleep, Console model promotes healthy parent-child attachment, destigmatizes NAS, and prevents unnecessary interventions.

What is the impact of substance abuse on child welfare?

This list provides key resources for leaders to consider when evaluating the impact of substance abuse on child welfare.

Are decisions to substantiate impacted by caseworkers’ perceptions of domestic violence or parental substance misuse?

Learn the findings from a study that assessed how caseworkers’ perceptions of domestic violence and parental substance use influenced the decision-making.

How can the child welfare system support families affected by substance use disorder?

Learn about the impact of substance use disorder on families, and some strategies and policies to improve outcomes for those affected by it.

What are some evidence-based interventions to prevent and mitigate the effects of prenatal substance exposure?

Learn about evidence-based strategies to mitigate effects of prenatal substance exposure during prenatal, birth, and postpartum periods.

What are some developmentally appropriate interventions for infants and children affected by prenatal substance exposure?

Learn about evidence-based strategies to mitigate effects of prenatal substance exposure and support children across developmental stages.

How can Plans of Safe Care help infants and families affected by prenatal substance exposure?

Learn about strategies for implementing Plans of Safe Care for infants with prenatal substance exposure.

What supports can benefit kinship caregivers in families affected by substance use disorder?

Learn how the child welfare system can support kinship caregivers whose families are affected by substance use disorders.

How can families affected by substance use disorder safely stay together?

Investing in healing interventions for families affected by substance use disorder can promote recovery and mitigate family separation.