Parental Substance Abuse Often Brings Children to the Attention of the Child Welfare System

Children come to the attention of the child welfare system in two ways—either shortly after birth because they were exposed to drugs or alcohol in-utero or sometime later because they have been abused or neglected. In some states, prenatal substance exposure itself constitutes neglect and is grounds for removing children from the custody of their parents. Older children of substance abusing parents also may enter foster care because they have been abused or neglected as a result of their parents’ diminished ability to properly care for them. Neglect is most frequently cited as the primary reason children are removed from the custody of their parents and placed in foster care. In addition to the large number of foster care cases involving parental substance abuse, the complexities of these family situations place greater demands on the child welfare system. Although the mother was ultimately reunified with her youngest child, it took a considerable amount of time and an array of social services to resolve this case. However, even for those who are able to recover from drug and alcohol addictions, it can be a difficult process that generally involves periods of relapse as a result of the chronic nature of addiction. Some drug treatment administrators and child welfare officials in these same locations believe that shorter time frames might help motivate a parent who abuses drugs to recover. However, expedited time framesmay require that permanency decisions be made before it is known whether the parent is likely to succeed in drug treatment. Most of these initiatives and changes to permanency laws are very new, so there is little experience to draw upon to determine whether they will help achieve timely exits from foster care for cases involving parental substance abuse. For example, California and Illinois have enacted statutory changes that specifically address permanency for foster care cases involving parental substance abuse. States and localities are undertaking programmatic initiatives that may also help to reconcile the goals of family reunification and timely exits from foster care, which may conflict, particularly when parental substance abuse is involved. Many are dually diagnosed with drug or alcohol addictions and mental illnesses, some are involved in criminal activities, some are homeless, and most have additional children in foster care. Reconciling these goals for children whose parents have a substance abuse problem presents a tremendous challenge to the entire child welfare system in determining how to balance the rights of parents with what is truly in the best interest of children. Through our ongoing work, we are continuing to explore the impact of parental substance abuse on foster care, by, for example, examining parents’ substance abuse histories and their drug treatment experiences, as well as exploring initiatives that might help achieve timely foster care exits for cases involving parental substance abuse.
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the implications of parental substance abuse for children and the child welfare system, and permanency planning for foster care cases involving parental substance abuse, focusing on reviews of the substance abuse histories and drug treatment experiences of parents, as well as initiatives that might help achieve timely exits from foster care for cases involving parental substance abuse.

What GAO Found

GAO noted that: (1) for many children, it is parental substance abuse that brings them to the attention of the child welfare system; (2) when a newborn has been found to have been prenatally exposed to drugs or alcohol, this often triggers an investigation of suspected child abuse and neglect; (3) in some states, prenatal substance exposure itself constitutes neglect and is grounds for removing a child from its parents; (4) substance abuse can damage a parent's ability to care for older children as well, and can lead to child abuse or neglect; (5) as a result, some of these children are removed from the custody of their parents and placed in foster care; (6) once a child is in the system, parental substance abuse is a significant hurdle in their path out of the system--a hurdle that requires drug or alcohol treatment for the parent in addition to other services for the family; (7) the nature of drug and alcohol addiction means a parent's recovery can take a considerable amount of time; (8) other problems these parents face, such as mental illness and homelessness, further complicate these cases; (9) foster care cases that involve parental substance abuse, therefore, place an additional strain on a child welfare system already overburdened by the sheer number of foster care cases; (10) child welfare agencies are charged with ensuring that foster care cases are resolved in a timely manner and with making reasonable efforts to reunite children with their parents; (11) ideally, both of these goals are to be achieved; (12) however, even for parents who are able to recover from drug or alcohol abuse problems, recovery can be a long process; (13) child welfare officials may have difficulties making permanency decisions within shorter time frames before they know whether the parent is likely to succeed in drug treatment; (14) so, when parental substance abuse is an issue in a foster care case, it may be difficult to reconcile these two goals; and (15) the foster care initiatives and laws that some states and localities are instituting may help reconcile the goals of family reunification and timely exits from foster care for the cases involving parental substance abuse.