Child protection and mothers in substance abuse treatment

NDARC Staff

Stephanie Taplin and Richard Mattick

Rationale

Parental substance misuse has become an issue of major concern to child protection agencies: when and how to intervene when children are in the care of parents who are misusing substances. Anecdotal reports suggest that significant numbers of parents are entering drug treatment services in response to the involvement of the child protection system in NSW: entering treatment and ceasing drug use may be a condition of retaining parental responsibility for their children. ‘To date, however, there have been very few studies that have examined the relationship between substance abuse treatment experiences and child welfare outcomes, and the few existing studies find mixed results’ (Green, Rockhill & Furrer, 2007: 461). This study aims to increase our knowledge and understanding of these complex relationships by undertaking a study with a group of women in opioid pharmacological treatment in NSW.

Design and Method

The main study involves the recruitment of 200 women who are in pharmacological treatment in NSW who have a child or children under the age of 16 years. Women will be asked to complete a one-off face-to-face interview about their own histories, and their involvement with both drug treatment and child protection services. Information will be predominantly collected via interview, but their consent will also be sought to access their drug treatment and child protection records (where relevant). Key informant interviews are also being conducted with service providers to obtain background information about the way agencies are working in this area.

Progress

Recruitment for the main study is well underway at several opioid treatment agencies, with interviews expected to be completed by early 2010.

Output

Presentations arising from the project in 2008:
Taplin, S. (2008) Parental Substance Use, Child Protection and Drug Treatment Services. Paper presented at Association of Children’s Welfare Agencies (ACWA) Conference, Sydney. 18-20 August 2008.

Taplin, S. (2008) How Effective is ‘Treatment’ for the Children of Substance Misusers? Accepted for presentation at Australian Professional Society on Alcohol and Other Drugs (APSAD) Conference 2008, Sydney. 23-26 November 2008.

Funding

NSW Department of Community Services’ Collaborative Research Program with the University of NSW.