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Parental Substance Use And Foster Care: Evidence From Two Methamphetamine Supply Shocks

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  • SCOTT CUNNINGHAM
  • KEITH FINLAY

Abstract

Foster care caseloads have almost doubled over the last two decades, but the cause of the growth is poorly understood. We study the role of parental methamphetamine (meth) use, which social workers have linked to recent growth in foster care admissions. To mitigate the impact of omitted variable bias, we take advantage of two significant, exogenous supply-side interventions in meth markets in 1995 and 1997, and find robust evidence that meth use has caused growth in foster care caseloads. Further, we identify the mechanisms by which increased meth use caused an increase in foster care caseloads. First, we find that treatment for meth abuse caused foster caseloads to fall in situations where a child was removed because of parental incarceration, suggesting that substance abuse treatment is a substitute for foster care services and more generally an effective demand-side intervention. Secondly, we find that parental meth use causes an increase in both child abuse and child neglect foster care cases. These results suggest that child welfare policies should be designed specifically for the children of meth-using parents.
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  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ecinqu:v:51:y:2013:i:1:p:764-782
    DOI: j.1465-7295.2012.00481.x
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    Cited by:

    1. 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.
    2. Hugo M. Mialon & Erik T. Nesson & Michael C. Samuel, 2016. "Crystal Clear? The Relationship Between Methamphetamine Use and Sexually Transmitted Infections," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 25(3), pages 292-313, March.
    3. 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.
    4. 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).
    5. Dobkin, Carlos & Nicosia, Nancy & Weinberg, Matthew, 2014. "Are supply-side drug control efforts effective? Evaluating OTC regulations targeting methamphetamine precursors," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 48-61.
    6. Stephens, Tricia & Aparicio, Elizabeth M., 2017. "“It's just broken branches”: Child welfare-affected mothers' dual experiences of insecurity and striving for resilience in the aftermath of complex trauma and familial substance abuse," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 248-256.
    7. Dealy, Bern C. & Horn, Brady P. & Berrens, Robert P., 2017. "The impact of clandestine methamphetamine labs on property values: Discovery, decontamination and stigma," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 161-172.
    8. Hugo M. Mialon, & Erik Nesson & Michael C. Samuel, 2013. "Crystal Clear? The Relationship between Methamphetamine Use and Risky Sexual Behavior," Working Papers 201301, Ball State University, Department of Economics, revised Mar 2013.
    9. 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.
    10. 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.
    11. 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.
    12. 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.
    13. D. Mark Anderson & David Elsea, 2015. "The Meth Project and Teen Meth Use: New Estimates from the National and State Youth Risk Behavior Surveys," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(12), pages 1644-1650, December.
    14. Dellor, Elinam D. & Allbright-Campos, Megan & Lee, Joyce Y. & Bunger, Alicia C. & Gadel, Fawn & Freisthler, Bridget, 2024. "Ohio START: An adaption of the National Sobriety Treatment and Recovery Teams model," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    15. 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.
    16. 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.
    17. Dorval, Amilie & Lamothe, Josianne & Hélie, Sonia & Poirier, Marie-Andrée, 2020. "Different profiles, different needs: An exploration and analysis of characteristics of children in kinship care and their parents," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    18. Amuedo-Dorantes, Catalina & Arenas-Arroyo, Esther, 2017. "Immigration Enforcement and Foster Care Placements," IZA Discussion Papers 10850, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law

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