The Prevalence and Characteristics of Substance Abusers in a Child Protective Service Sample

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this research was to identify characteristics of substance abusers in a child protective services caseload. The random sample of 443 children was drawn from an urban county from all children with a substantiated abuse case. Files of children were reviewed to derive data. Sixty-eight percent of the children had mothers who abused alcohol or drugs, and 37 percent of them had mothers who abused both. Substance abuse, service contacts, public assistance, homelessness, and household conditions in the service plan were all associated with child removal from the home. These findings suggest that the risks associated with substance abuse are not necessarily ameliorated with social work intervention.

KEYWORDS:

• Mother's substance abuse
• child abuse
• neglect
• child protective services