Keeping Kids Safe When their Parents are struggling with Substance Use: From Preventing Removal to Reunification

Source: WI Department of Children & Families Out-Of-Home Care Report Annual Report for Calendar Year 2015

Source: WI Department of Children & Families Out-Of-Home Care Report Annual Report for Calendar Year 2016

SOURCE: Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) FY 2015 data2

SOURCE: Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) FY 2016data2

Impact of Parental Substance Use on Children

Impending Danger Threats 3. One or both parents’/caregivers’ behavior is dangerously impulsive or they will not/cannot control their behavior. Substance abuse renders the parent/caregiver incapable of routinely/consistently attending to child’s basic needs. Parent/caregiver has addictive patterns or behaviors (e.g. addiction to substances, gambling, computers) that are uncontrolled and leave the child in potentially severe situations (e.g. failure to supervise or provide other basic care)

Impending Danger Threats 10. Living arrangements seriously endanger the child’s physical health. The family home is being used for methamphetamine production; products and materials used in the production of methamphetamine are being stored and are accessible within the home. Occupants in the home, activity within the home, or traffic in and out of the home present a specific threat to the child that could result in severe consequences to the child. People who are under the influence of substances that can result in violent, sexual, or aggressive behavior are routinely in the home or have frequent access

Safety Threshold Criteria O – Observable condition V – Vulnerable to the condition O – Out-of-control I – Imminent S - Severe

Insufficient services Differences in perspective Lack of funds Lack of coordination Difficulty engaging parents in change Knowledge gaps Insufficient services Differences in perspective

Out-of-Home Safety Management Safety plan is revised when: positive or negative changes related to parent/caregiver protective capacities occur - OR - Changes to impending danger threats to child safety occur – including threshold criteria

Out-of-Home Safety Management Information gathered from the parents/caregivers, child, and out-of-home care provider is used to: Assess if impending danger threats in the parental home are in effect. Determine if conditions have changed or can be controlled with the provision of services to allow the child to return home with a sufficient, feasible, and sustainable in-home safety plan.

PERMANENCY SAFETY

Concurrent Planning A parent has a history of substance abuse or is chemically dependent and/or has a history of treatment failures or the child was drug-exposed at the time of birth. A parent's only visible support system is a drug culture, with no significant effort to change over time.

UA SAFETY

Collaboration Cross Training Collocation Cross-System Partnerships Cross-System Information Sharing

Resources Parental Substance Use and the Child Welfare System https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/parentalsubabuse.pdf Protecting Children in Families Affected by Substance Use Disorders (Children’s Bureau) https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/substanceuse.pdf National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare https://ncsacw.samhsa.gov/