Hard to succeed: A call for social change from mothers with substance use in the child welfare system

This qualitative participatory action research applies photovoice methodology to engage, understand, and prioritize the voice of mothers involved with the child welfare system and recovery support services. Thirteen mothers were given digital cameras to create photographs that represented their experiences with the child welfare agencies, courts, and systems of care involved in their lives. They then participated in sessions of critical dialogue to reflect on their experiences, identify community needs, and discuss and codify themes and shared priorities as co-researchers in the study. Findings reveal that mothers depict a child welfare system in which it is easy to fail and hard to succeed. Three key subthemes include: (a) disempowerment, (b) incongruent system design, and (c) the need for relational support with emphasis on empathetic and equipped caseworkers. Implications focus on strategies to achieve empowerment and improve programmatic and system practices to better align with the needs and experiences of mothers in recovery. The role of caseworkers as central influencers, creating networks of support with strengths-based, simplified, and coordinated care, as well as opportunities for destigmatized and accessible early intervention are recommended areas of improved focus. Collectively, findings inform how community stakeholders can support women across the multiple systems they interact with and include a social action statement from mothers about what they want stakeholders to understand about their experiences and how they define the need for social change.