Substance Use, the Opioid Epidemic and the Child Welfare System: Key Findings from a Mixed Methods Study

This study examined the relationship between parental substance misuse and child welfare caseloads, which began rising in 2012 after more than a decade of decline. We examined county level variation in both phenomena and qualitative interviews documented the perspectives and experiences of local professionals in the child welfare agency, substance use disorder treatment programs, family courts, and other community partners in 11 communities across the country. Results describe how the child welfare system interacts with community partners to serve an increasing population of parents whose substance use has impaired their parenting and placed their children at risk.