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Drug use by parents: The challenge for child protection and drug and alcohol services

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 February 2016

Frank Ainsworth
Frank Ainsworth*
Affiliation:
Edith Cowan University, School of International Cultural and Community Studies, Joondalup Campus, Perth WA 6027, Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

This article focuses on parental drug use and the impact on child welfare. The gravity of this issue is well documented in a number of reports from government and in annual reports from relevant state and territory departments. Yet, there has been little attention to this issue in Australian journals in spite of the fact that this is probably the most critical issue child protection services have had to face for two decades or more. Parental drug use is almost certainly responsible for the rise in the number of children, especially young children, entering out-of-home care. Drug use also creates issues in relation to family reunification. The final part of the article proposes an enhanced three stage model of family reunification that addresses these issues. This model is based on greater collaboration between child protection services, drug treatment agencies, and the legal system.

Type
Research Article
Information
Children Australia , Volume 29 , Issue 3 , 2004 , pp. 4 - 10
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2004

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