Child Maltreatment, Child Development, Public Policies, and Parental Addiction

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): A substantial body of research suggests that safe, stable, and permanent homes are crucial for children's healthy development and wellbeing. Yet, a considerable number of children live with one or more substance abusing parents. These children are disproportionately at risk for both poor developmental outcomes and child abuse and neglect. They are also at risk of being removed from their families and placed in substitute care if parental substance use is deemed to pose a threat to child safety. Past research has documented that a large proportion of children whose parents are investigated for child abuse or neglect, and the majority of children removed from their homes due to child abuse or neglect, have parents with substance abuse problems. Recent child welfare policies that emphasize time-limited provision of services and expedited terminations of parental rights may be inconsistent with substance abuse treatment efforts for such families, and may result in a greater proportion of children with substance abusing parents experiencing lengthy or permanent separations from their families, as compared to children who enter the child welfare system for other reasons. Furthermore, little is known about how to most effectively intervene with substance abusing parents in the context of the child welfare system. To address these concerns, this research will use data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Wellbeing, in combination with State-level policy data, to explore associations between parental substance abuse, State child welfare policies, child development, child welfare case outcomes, and child maltreatment sequelae. Specifically, it will: (1) estimate the incidence of,parental substance abuse among families reported for abuse or neglect; (2) identify associations between parental substance abuse and specific types of child abuse and neglect; (3) investigate whether child welfare case outcomes, as well as cognitive, behavioral, and social development r.elated outcomes, differ for children in substance abusing and non-substance abusing families; and (4) examine whether and how State child welfare policies affect both the types of services provided to, and child welfare case outcomes for, families affected by substance abuse compared to families not affected. This research can assist policy makers in making informed decisions and developing effective public policies for meeting the needs of abused and neglected children with substance abusing parents.