The Opioid Epidemic: Two New Research Briefs
Substance Use, the Opioid Epidemic, and the Child Welfare System
The Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) has just released the following two briefs:
- Substance Use, the Opioid Epidemic and the Child Welfare System: Key Takeaways from a Mixed Methods Study
- The Relationship Between Substance Use Prevalence and Child Welfare Caseloads
They are available at: https://aspe.hhs.gov/child-welfare-and-substance-use
The briefs examine how substance use affects child welfare systems across the country. Top-level findings are as follows:
- Caseloads: Nationally, rates of drug overdose deaths and drug-related hospitalizations have a positive relationship with child welfare caseloads (that is, rates of child protective services reports, substantiated reports, and foster care placements). Generally, counties with higher overdose death and drug hospitalization rates have higher caseload rates. In addition, these substance use indicators correlate with rates of more complex and severe child welfare cases.
- Availability and use of substance use treatment: Several major challenges affect how child welfare agencies and families interact with substance use treatment options, including medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder. Family-friendly treatment options are limited, and caseworkers, courts, and other providers often misunderstand how treatment works and lack guidelines on how to incorporate it into child welfare practice.
- System response: Child welfare agencies and their community partners are struggling to meet families’ needs. Haphazard substance use assessment practices, barriers to collaboration with substance use treatment providers and other stakeholders, and shortages of foster homes and trained staff undermine the effectiveness of agencies’ responses to families.
Special thanks to Mathematica Policy Research for assistance with data collection, as well as the more than 180 individuals across the country participating in interviews. Their time, perspectives, and knowledge were invaluable in this research effort.
For more information, please click here.
