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The study examined the number of home outbreaks in the national system of analysis and reporting of adoption. The study did not count the number of children – an important distinction, as some children may have been entered several times in the database, noted the researchers.
"There is so little [research] Angélica Meinhofer, senior author and health policy educator and researcher at Weill Cornell Medical College, said, "This study attempts to quantify … the increase in the number of foster families and the consumption drugs by the parents. "
The researchers analyzed nearly 5 million entries in foster families and examined factors such as demographics, geographical area and reasons for remoteness at home, including the consumption of drug in the parents or guardians.
Drug consumption by parents accounted for more than one million in foster care arrivals, accounting for 23% of all admissions registered over the 17-year period. Over time, the percentage of home withdrawals related to parental drug use has increased "dramatically and steadily," from almost 15% of withdrawals in 2000 to 36% in 2017, researchers said. . Compared with children with other causes of removal at home, children removed from home because of parental drug use were more likely to be under 5 years of age (60.2% compared to 39.7%), white (54.5% vs. 45.3%) and live in the south (44.7% vs. 30.8%).
However, these results are accompanied by several reservations. The study did not specify the type of drug that the parents used, so the results can not be related to specific drugs, such as opioids. Although researchers found a pattern of drug use by parents, they did not examine the causes of the growth in drug use. For example, according to Meinhofer, there could have been changes in drug use policies, involving more foster care interventions or changes in the way drug use was done. was documented in the database.
Follow-up studies should examine the causes of increased drug use, which could "guide better policies" that can "meet the needs of these children," said Meinhofer.
The results of the study are based on "what is a social worker writing and integrity protection services in a data-based system that he is able to collect", which may not be exact, complete or well funded, according to Richard Ruth, an associate professor of clinical psychology at George Washington University who did not participate in the study.
In addition, researchers only had information until until 2017, the year for which the most recent data was available from the system of analysis and reporting on adoption and placement in a foster family.
Ruth treated the children in foster care through a national voluntary counseling program.
"I do not see anything that puts an end to this very unfortunate trend (…), it has grown," said Ruth about cases of foster families linked to drug use by parents.
"There must be many different types of research, including qualitative research," said Ruth. "We need to know the parents of drug addicts in depth – what is their story, how did they get there, what did they try, what worked?" ? "
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