Collocation: Integrating Child Welfare and Substance Abuse Services

Abstract

This article presents findings from a process evaluation of a pilot program to address parental substance abuse in the child welfare system. By placing substance abuse counselors in a local child welfare office, the collocation program was designed to facilitate early identification, timely referral to treatment, and improved treatment engagement of substance-abusing parents. Frontline child welfare workers in 6 of the 7 pilot sites endorsed the program as they found that the collocated substance abuse counselors provided additional resources and facilitated case processing. Findings suggest that clearly defined procedures and sufficient staffing of qualified substance abuse counselors could lead to better programs.

KEYWORDS:

• child welfare
• parental substance abuse
• service integration

This research was funded by the Children's Bureau (#90CW-1111), Administration of Children and Family, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.