IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/cysrev/v90y2018icp83-93.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The role of substance use in child welfare caseloads

Author

Listed:
  • Ghertner, Robin
  • Waters, Annette
  • Radel, Laura
  • Crouse, Gilbert

Abstract

Anecdotal evidence suggests that recent rises in foster care caseloads are due to increasing parental substance use, particularly misuse of opioids. This study tests the association between child welfare caseloads and two measures of substance use prevalence, including drug overdose deaths and drug-related hospitalizations, for most counties in the United States over the 2011 to 2016 period. We use several statistical models to account for confounding factors, including models examining cross-county variation as well as within county variation. We find four primary findings. First, both measures positively associate with higher foster care entry rates, after accounting for various demographic, socioeconomic, and other local and state-level factors. Second, we find that the relationship is stronger in metropolitan counties than in non-metropolitan counties. Third, hospitalization rates due to different classes of substances, including opioids, have comparable relationships with foster care entry rates, though alcohol has the strongest relationship. Finally, higher substance use prevalence predicts more complex and severe cases of child maltreatment, with more children ending up in foster care in counties with higher overdose death and drug hospitalization rates.

Suggested Citation

  • Ghertner, Robin & Waters, Annette & Radel, Laura & Crouse, Gilbert, 2018. "The role of substance use in child welfare caseloads," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 83-93.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:90:y:2018:i:c:p:83-93
    DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.05.015
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740918300458
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.05.015?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lloyd, Margaret H. & Akin, Becci A. & Brook, Jody, 2017. "Parental drug use and permanency for young children in foster care: A competing risks analysis of reunification, guardianship, and adoption," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 177-187.
    2. Jarlenski, M. & Barry, C.L. & Gollust, S. & Graves, A.J. & Kennedy-Hendricks, A. & Kozhimannil, K., 2017. "Polysubstance use among US women of reproductive age who use opioids for nonmedical reasons," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 107(8), pages 1308-1310.
    3. Brook, Jody & McDonald, Tom, 2009. "The impact of parental substance abuse on the stability of family reunifications from foster care," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 193-198, February.
    4. Lynch, Sean & Sherman, Laura & Snyder, Susan M. & Mattson, Margaret, 2018. "Trends in infants reported to child welfare with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS)," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 135-141.
    5. Lloyd, Margaret H. & Akin, Becci A., 2014. "The disparate impact of alcohol, methamphetamine, and other drugs on family reunification," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 72-81.
    6. Scott Cunningham & Keith Finlay, 2013. "Parental Substance Use And Foster Care: Evidence From Two Methamphetamine Supply Shocks," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 51(1), pages 764-782, January.
    7. repec:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2017.303825_0 is not listed on IDEAS
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Lin, Yu-An & Hedeker, Donald & Ryan, Joseph P. & Marsh, Jeanne C., 2020. "Longitudinal analysis of need-service matching for substance-involved parents in the child welfare system," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    2. Moreland, Angela & Newman, Carla & Crum, Kathleen I. & Are, Funlola, 2021. "Types of child maltreatment and child welfare involvement among opioid-using mothers involved in substance use treatment," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    3. Tang, Shichao & Matjasko, Jennifer L. & Harper, Christopher R. & Rostad, Whitney L. & Ports, Katie A. & Strahan, Andrea E. & Florence, Curtis, 2021. "Impact of Medicaid expansion and methadone coverage as a medication for opioid use disorder on foster care entries during the opioid crisis," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    4. Alexander Chapman, 2022. "The Opioid Crisis and Child Maltreatment Across Counties and Time in the United States, 2007–2017," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 703(1), pages 139-161, September.
    5. Miller, J. Jay & Cooley, Morgan & Owens, Larry & Fletcher, Jessica Day & Moody, Shannon, 2019. "Self-care practices among foster parents: An exploratory study," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 206-212.
    6. Lindsey Rose Bullinger & Benjamin C. Ward, 2021. "What about the children? How opioid use affects child well‐being," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 39(4), pages 737-759, October.
    7. Atkins, Danielle N. & Durrance, Christine Piette, 2021. "The impact of state-level prenatal substance use policies on infant foster care entry in the United States," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    8. Debra A. Strong & Alyson Burnett & Patricia Del Grosso & Mathew Stange, "undated". "Partnering to Reduce Substance Use and Child Maltreatment: 2014 Regional Partnership Grants Final Report," Mathematica Policy Research Reports 124298087de0448caf08cbf1f, Mathematica Policy Research.
    9. Cheng, Tyrone C. & Lo, Celia C., 2020. "Receipt of substance-use services by caregivers involved in the child-welfare system," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    10. Offiong, Asari & Powell, Terrinieka W. & Lewis, Quiana & Smith, Bianca & Prioleau, Morgan, 2020. "“I missed open arms”: The need for connectedness among Black youth affected by parental drug use," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    11. Hall, Martin T. & Walton, Matthew T. & Huebner, Ruth A. & Higgins, George E. & Kelmel, Aimee B. & Lorenz, Doug, 2021. "Sobriety treatment and recovery teams for families with co-occurring substance use and child maltreatment: A propensity score-matched evaluation," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    12. Bullinger, Lindsey Rose & Wing, Coady, 2019. "How many children live with adults with opioid use disorder?," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 1-1.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Moreland, Angela & Newman, Carla & Crum, Kathleen I. & Are, Funlola, 2021. "Types of child maltreatment and child welfare involvement among opioid-using mothers involved in substance use treatment," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    2. Lloyd Sieger, Margaret & Becker, Jessica & Philips, Jon & Lee, Jung Wun & Moore, Timothy E., 2023. "Latent classes among substance-involved families in child welfare: Associations with treatment completion and reunification," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    3. Lindo, Jason M. & Padilla-Romo, María, 2018. "Kingpin approaches to fighting crime and community violence: Evidence from Mexico's drug war," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 253-268.
    4. Ben-David, Vered, 2016. "Substance-abusing parents and their children in termination of parental rights cases in Israel," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 94-100.
    5. Stritzel, Haley, 2022. "State-level changes in health insurance coverage and parental substance use-associated foster care entry," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 305(C).
    6. D. Mark Anderson & Benjamin Hansen & Daniel I. Rees, 2015. "Medical Marijuana Laws and Teen Marijuana Use," American Law and Economics Review, American Law and Economics Association, vol. 17(2), pages 495-528.
    7. Bondurant, Samuel R. & Lindo, Jason M. & Swensen, Isaac D., 2018. "Substance abuse treatment centers and local crime," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 124-133.
    8. Rebbe, Rebecca & Bishop, Asia S. & Ahn, Jooree & Mienko, Joseph A., 2020. "Opioid overdose events and child maltreatment indicators: Differential county-level associations," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    9. Mowbray, Orion & Ryan, Joseph P. & Victor, Bryan G. & Bushman, Gregory & Yochum, Clayton & Perron, Brian E., 2017. "Longitudinal trends in substance use and mental health service needs in child welfare," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 1-8.
    10. Johnson-Motoyama, Michelle & Brook, Jody & Yan, Yueqi & McDonald, Thomas P., 2013. "Cost analysis of the strengthening families program in reducing time to family reunification among substance-affected families," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 244-252.
    11. Dauber, Sarah & Neighbors, Charles & Dasaro, Chris & Riordan, Annette & Morgenstern, Jon, 2012. "Impact of intensive case management on child welfare system involvement for substance-dependent parenting women on public assistance," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 34(7), pages 1359-1366.
    12. Esposito, Tonino & Trocmé, Nico & Chabot, Martin & Shlonsky, Aron & Collin-Vézina, Delphine & Sinha, Vandna, 2013. "Placement of children in out-of-home care in Québec, Canada: When and for whom initial out-of-home placement is most likely to occur," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 35(12), pages 2031-2039.
    13. Yampolskaya, Svetlana & Callejas, Linda M., 2020. "The effect of child mental health service use on child safety and permanency in substance misusing families," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    14. Ports, Katie A. & Rostad, Whitney L. & Luo, Feijun & Putnam, Michelle & Zurick, Elizabeth, 2018. "The impact of the low-income housing tax credit on children's health and wellbeing in Georgia," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 390-396.
    15. Jung Kim & Elizabeth Clary & Christina Ribar & Sarah Palmer & Elizabeth Weigensberg, "undated". "Strategies for Rural Communities for Addressing Substance Misuse among Families Involved with the Child Welfare System," Mathematica Policy Research Reports bd8865373e62434eac48f7a26, Mathematica Policy Research.
    16. Deza, Monica, 2015. "Is there a stepping stone effect in drug use? Separating state dependence from unobserved heterogeneity within and between illicit drugs," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 184(1), pages 193-207.
    17. Scott Cunningham & Keith Finlay, 2016. "Identifying Demand Responses to Illegal Drug Supply Interdictions," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 25(10), pages 1268-1290, October.
    18. Li, Zhengyu, 2016. "Essays on knowledge sourcing and technological capability : A knowledge structure perspective," Other publications TiSEM b8ff31fc-c57b-4bc3-b5a4-0, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    19. Debra A. Strong & Sarah A. Avellar & Julieta Lugo-Gil & Megan Hague-Angus & Caroline Massad Francis, "undated". "2012 Regional Partnership Grants to Increase the Well-Being of and to Improve the Permanency Outcomes for Children Affected by Substance Abuse: Second Annual Report to Congress," Mathematica Policy Research Reports 4d45c35cdd9d4347881aa9ab9, Mathematica Policy Research.
    20. Gihleb, Rania & Giuntella, Osea & Zhang, Ning, 2018. "The Effects of Mandatory Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs on Foster Care Admissions," IZA Discussion Papers 11470, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:90:y:2018:i:c:p:83-93. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/childyouth .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.