Child Welfare In Relation to Substance Abuse
Child welfare is defined as “a continuum of services designed to ensure that children are safe and that families have the necessary support to care for their children successfully” (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2012). With this in mind, child welfare is very important in today’s society because of the many children that undergo situations beyond the scope of nurturing and suitable for a healthy upbringing. There are sixteen year olds raising their siblings, nine year olds making sure their entire family eats that day, and an array of other situations in which children are given the role of caregiver and family provider. There are issues society remains unaware of, as well as instances in which there are witnesses that remain silent. Children are being abused every single minute of every single day, and a tired and overworked system works diligently to remedy the problems. Researchers note many factors that contribute to the abuse of children on a daily basis: substance abuse, mental illness, depression, genetics, and others among the list that stem from poverty. Statistics show that out of all child abuse cases, one-third to two-thirds of those cases result from something having to do with substance abuse (Child Abuse Statistics, 2017). Far too often, society turns a blind eye when a child is suffering and regards it as none of their business. In reality, that child or those children need an advocate-somebody to come to their aid and speak for them when they have no voice. Their welfare is not being met, they are not being cared for properly, and they need someone to alert the proper authorities of the horrible conditions these children are living through. Child welfare is not something that should be taken lightly. A child may come to school one day with tiny bruises and end up in the hospital on a ventilator the next day if the proper procedures are not taken to ensure this child’s welfare is being met. Caring for a child is not an easy task, but if having a child is something a person wants then they must understand the responsibility that comes with parenthood. This includes providing a nurturing home with a bed to sleep in, food to eat, and support for the child’s growth and development. Regardless of how disappointed, frustrated, angry, or tired a parent becomes in caring for a child, abuse be that physical, emotional, or another type, should never be the result. The duty of a parent is to fulfill the needs of their child and to go above and beyond to care for that child in every way possible.
The article, “Promising Results for Cross-Systems Collaborative Efforts to Meet the Needs of Families Impacted by Substance Use,” is about the way parenting and child welfare can improve when families that suffer from substance abuse are treated properly and attend the right types of treatment programs. Substance abuse affects many families and can have a negative impact on the welfare of those families, specifically the children. Because the person who is abusing drugs can undergo mood swings, the abuser can become volatile and lash out at the child. Other situations such as the abuser using money, intended to be spent on food and family needs, to pay for drugs or the substance they are abusing can result in a lack of adequate child welfare. Children may also face the consequences of their guardian’s actions if the adult has overdosed, forcing the child to take measures in order to make sure that guardian receives the care to save their life.
On many occurrences, substance abuse can be linked to some type of trauma, be that in childhood or adulthood. The effects of this disease are devastating and do not only affect the individual suffering from the disease. One aspect of substance abuse in relation to child welfare is depression. If the individual who suffers from substance abuse is deeply depressed, they can become withdrawn and neglectful. These negative attributes reverberate throughout the family. When a person goes into this state, there is nothing that matters to them, causing them to shut everyone out, including their children and partners. This results in neglect or emotional abuse to the child or children, as well as their partner, which can impact the family. The repercussions of this abuse can be physical harm as well as emotional damage to the family. The home is no longer safe and the comfort of that family is in question. The partner of the abuser may feel inept to handle the abuse to themselves and the children, compromising their ability to support the family in a nurturing, safe, and comfortable environment in which the family can thrive. The welfare of the family, specifically the children’s welfare, is compromised which can lead to lifelong issues if not remedied.
Throughout this article, numerous facts and tests were performed to demonstrate whether particular treatment programs were effective in helping families that were affected by substance abuse. To aid in this research, Congress authorized the start-up of a new grant program, spending $145 million over a span of five years. This grant program was referred to as “Targeted Grants to Increase the Well-Being of, and to Improve the Permanency Outcomes for, Children Affected by Methamphetamine or Other Substance Use” (Dennis, 2015). Within this newly funded grant program, the Regional Partnership Grant (RPG) Program helped establish a set of needs that must be met to achieve optimal welfare for the families who had an individual suffering from substance abuse. This article also lays out a set of indicators that were put together in order to measure program performances and outcomes of the participants included in the RPG program procedures. Specifically, chi-square analyses were used when determining improvements compared to baseline measures in relation to child welfare because of the standard utilized by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) (Dennis, 2015). When these treatment programs were being tested, the significant differences in the tests were shown in the demographics of the children and adults (Dennis, 2015). The instruments used to measure the improvements of each member of the family and the family as a whole were not standardized (Dennis, 2015). However, there was some evidence of cross-over detected in well-being of the families using the numerous instruments (Dennis, 2015).
The RPG Program created one of the largest sets of data ever created in the United States with regard to families who were involved in the child welfare system and how the substance use in those particular families led to abuse and neglect (Dennis, 2015). The research done on the 53 RPG Program partnerships presented an improvement in the lives of many families and children that were affected by substance use (Dennis, 2015). The different companies that used this cross-system were able to collect data and exchange it amongst the companies in order to show how families that fell apart because of addiction could always find a way to improve their lives and bring their families back together. The results showed three critical things: (1) when the child was removed from the home and the parent or guardian bettered themselves, it was very rare for the child to enter the foster care system again after being returned to the home, (2) the parent or guardian that entered the program was to stay 90 days, receive essential care to reduce their substance abuse, and additional workshops to improve parenting skills in order to reunify the family, (3) and the overall child welfare and the well-being of the entire family improved because of the data sets that were constructed by the RPG program (Dennis, 2015).
In the entire article, it was shown that many tests were conducted to show the significance of substance use when it is combined with child welfare. The RPG program was used to establish a clear connection between the use of drug or alcohol related substances and the welfare of a child. The article indicates there are effective treatments and other integrated services available, which aid in positive outcomes for both the child and parent when using a treatment program to establish positive welfare for families suffering with substance abuse.
My reaction to this article was very positive and uplifting. I felt as if the government’s efforts to create programs to keep families unified were in tune with my own beliefs. Established treatment programs are an integral part of the child welfare system. Without the grant programs initiated by the government, fewer families would have recovered from the devastating effects of substance abuse and the welfare of the children would still be at risk. Using these treatment programs as a guide, future programs will likely be created to enhance the already existing child welfare system. The government took action when it was needed in order to not only protect the child from abuse and neglect, but also to spare the families.
Taking this class and learning about the many hardships children go through when they are being abused was very hard for me to understand. This article helped show me that people suffering from substance abuse, who abuse and neglect their children, can eventually change their life once they receive the necessary treatment thus resulting in improved child welfare. Teaching individuals how their addiction and the damage they have caused can destroy families allows them to open their heart and eyes to their situation, thus allowing them to be better people. There are many people out there that have had their children removed by Child Protective Services (CPS) because of abuse and/or neglect. In several cases, successful treatment has led to the reunification of families. While it is difficult for a CPS worker to guarantee placement of the child back into the home they were removed from is the correct decision, I’m sure it is rewarding for the worker to know they contributed to potentially repairing a family bond and assisting them with becoming a better family.
The reason I chose this article was because it related to class material well. Although it did not indicate all the reasons why children suffer from abuse and did not give many answers as to why it happens, this article focused on one factor as to how a child may be abused and neglected. Not only did this article relate to the class material we were given on how substance abuse affects child welfare, but it also gave a more detailed description as to treatment programs shown to improve the welfare of the child and the family in those circumstances.
In conclusion, I think our society should focus more attention in becoming informed when it comes to child welfare. Keeping abreast of what is going on in today’s world, reading and watching documentaries on child welfare and its system can assist with educating the general public. Getting involved with local governmental agencies in an advocacy role can lead to improvements in both the education of the public and improvements in the policies and procedures of those agencies. Learning about the warning signs in an abuse situation can lead to early intervention as well as increased protection. Combining resources of the government, law enforcement, and the general public in an effort to stamp out abuse will lead to an enhanced child welfare system.