Engaging substance-affected families in child welfare: parent perspectives of a parenting intervention at program initiation and completion

ABSTRACT

Families affected by substance abuse are at an increased risk of child welfare involvement and poor child welfare outcomes. One strategy to improve outcomes among these families is evidence-based parenting interventions. While these interventions show the potential for advancing the child welfare field, they have not been widely and rigorously evaluated with birth parents, especially those affected by substance abuse, who face marked vulnerability and marginalization. We sought to draw on parents’ expertise and to understand their first and changing impressions throughout involvement in a parenting intervention, as well as overall impressions at program completion. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 10 parents who were involved in child welfare and a family drug treatment court. All parents were affected by parental substance use and had recently completed the Strengthening Families Program. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed for prominent themes. The study’s findings showed that parents described four key themes that influenced their perspectives of the parenting intervention: program reputation as communicated by peers, relevance and applicability of the program, children’s involvement and enjoyment of the program, and program structure issues that pointed to the need for high-quality group facilitation. Implications for practice and research are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Child welfare
• engaging parents
• evidence-based parenting interventions
• foster care
• parent training

Acknowledgments

This study was part of a demonstration project funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The contents of this article are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the SAMHSA.

The authors would like to acknowledge the important contributions of our agency collaborators and study participants. We are especially grateful to the parents who gave their time and graciously shared information about their experiences.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration;