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Cocaine and Child Welfare

Find resources on the prevalence of cocaine use and its impact on children and families as well as strategies for treatment and response.

	Back From the Brink: Women, Crack, and the Child Welfare System (PDF - 291 KB) Annie E. Casey Foundation (2002) Describes the challenges of providing services to women using crack cocaine and their children, and essential program components for effective services.

African-American Women Who Use Crack Cocaine: A Comparison of Mothers Who Live With and Have Been Separated From Their Children
Lam, Wechsberg, & Zule
Child Abuse and Neglect: An International Journal, 28(11), 2004
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Findings suggest that community outreach and intervention efforts that engage mothers who use drugs and live with their children may be more effective strategies than formal services not based at home.

The Maternal Lifestyle Study: Cognitive, Motor, and Behavioral Outcomes of Cocaine-Exposed and Opiate-Exposed Infants Through Three Years of Age
Messinger, Bauer, Das, Seifer, & Lester
Pediatrics, 113(6), 2004
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A longitudinal study of the direct effects of prenatal cocaine exposure and prenatal opiate exposure on mental, motor, and behavioral outcomes of children between 1 and 3 years-old.

Mental Health Outcomes of Cocaine-Exposed Children at 6 Years of Age
Linares, Singer, Kirchner, Short, Min, Hussey, et al.
Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 31(1), 2006
Examines behavioral problems and other mental health symptoms of children exposed to cocaine using child self-report, caregiver report, and other assessment tools.

Neurological and Developmental Outcomes of Prenatally Cocaine-Exposed Offspring From 12 to 36 Months
Lewis, Misra, Johnson, & Rosen
American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 30(2), 2004
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Examines the long-term effects of prenatal cocaine exposure on neurological and developmental outcomes for children at ages 12 months, 18 months, 24 months, and 36 months.

Prenatal Cocaine Exposure: Long-Run Effects and Policy Implications
Berger & Waldfogel
Social Service Review, 74(1), 2000
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Reviews the literature regarding prenatal cocaine exposure and child development, the utility of current child welfare policies, and alternative approaches to protecting children.

Prenatal Cocaine Exposure and Child Welfare Outcomes
Doris, Meguid, Thomas, Blatt, & Eckenrode
Child Maltreatment, 11(4), 2006
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Findings suggest that prenatal cocaine exposure is not a marker for abusive parenting, but that the identification of cocaine-exposed infants at birth can form the starting point for the development of appropriate diagnostic and follow-up services for mother and child.

Treatment Retention and Birth Outcomes of Crack Users Enrolled in a Substance Abuse Treatment Program for Pregnant Women
Fiocchi & Kingree
Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 20(2), 2001
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Examines the characteristics of pregnant crack users in retention in a residential treatment program and the outcomes of their pregnancies.

Updated on March 1, 2010