Parental substance use is a key factor associated with infants and children (particularly young children) coming into foster care.1,2 The opioid epidemic and increases in substance-related deaths have resulted in increases in the number of families coming to the attention of child protective services and in the number of children entering out-of-home care.
Raising children can be complicated for any parent, and substance use may pose challenges to meeting children’s physical, psychological, and emotional needs. However, several misconceptions exist, including the conflation of risk with substance use, which can often lead to policies and practices that disadvantage families coming to the attention of child welfare. This may include decision-making about child safety based solely on the presence of substance use and the results of a drug test rather than an assessment of how the substance use affects child safety.
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