Health Determinants, Maternal Addiction, and Foster Care: Current Knowledge and Directions for Future Research

Abstract

Maternal substance use disorders (SUDs) are a known risk factor for poor child welfare outcomes. Efforts to expose the mechanism of this disparity typically focus on the mother’s addiction treatment experiences. However, treatment completion rates are typically higher than reunification rates and current theory does little to explain why some mothers reunify and others do not. This article aims to widen the lens on this area of research through application of a social determinants of health framework. A systematic review of the literature pertinent to mothers with SUDs seeking reunification identifies existing gaps and makes recommendations for practice, policy, and future research.

KEYWORDS:

• child welfare
• foster care
• intersectional social determinants of health
• maternal substance use disorders
• systematic review