Child Welfare Information Gateway
Skip to main content
  • U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
  • Administration for Children & Families
  • Children's Bureau
Child Welfare Information Gateway
REPORT ABUSE OR
NEGLECT
FIND HELP WITH A
PERSONAL SITUATION   

Home Topics Publications Library State Resources More Tools & Resources News & Events
REPORT ABUSE OR
NEGLECT
FIND HELP WITH A
PERSONAL SITUATION   
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Chat
  • Free Subscriptions
  • Resources in Spanish
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Chat
  • Resources in Spanish
  • Shopping Cart
  • Home
  • Topics
    • Family-Centered Practice
      • Philosophy and Key Elements of Family-Centered Practice
      • Family-Centered Practice Across the Service Continuum
      • Engaging Families
      • Family-Centered Casework Practice
      • Family Group Decision-Making
      • Engaging Communities to Support Families
      • Creating a Family-Centered Agency Culture
    • Child Abuse & Neglect
      • Definitions of Child Abuse & Neglect
      • Identification of Child Abuse & Neglect
      • Risk Factors That Contribute to Child Abuse and Neglect
      • People Who Engage in Child Abuse or Neglect
      • Impact of Child Abuse & Neglect
      • Child Abuse & Neglect Fatalities
    • Preventing Child Abuse & Neglect
      • National Child Abuse Prevention Month
      • Overview: Preventing Child Abuse & Neglect
      • Promoting Child & Family Well-Being
      • Public Awareness & Creating Supportive Communities
      • Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Programs
      • Developing & Sustaining Prevention Programs
      • Evidence-Based Practice for Child Abuse Prevention
      • Evaluating Prevention Programs
    • Responding to Child Abuse & Neglect
      • Introduction to Responding to Child Abuse & Neglect
      • Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect
      • Assessment in Child Protection
      • Differential Response in Child Protective Services
      • Child Protection Casework Practice
      • Responding to Child Maltreatment Near Fatalities and Fatalities
      • Trauma-Informed Practice in Child Welfare
      • Collaborative Responses to Child Abuse & Neglect
    • Supporting & Preserving Families
      • Supporting Families With Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders
      • Introduction to Family Support and Preservation
      • In-Home Services Involved With Child Protection
      • Family Support Services
      • Resources for Managers of Family Support and Preservation Services
      • Family Preservation Services
    • Out-of-Home Care
      • National Foster Care Month
      • Overview: Out-of-Home Care
      • Foster Care
      • Group and Residential Care
      • Kinship Care
      • Casework Practice in Out-of-Home Care
      • Transition to Adulthood and Independent Living
      • Placement Decisions
      • Resources for Foster Families
    • Achieving & Maintaining Permanency
      • Overview: Achieving & Maintaining Permanency
      • Reunifying Families
      • Recruiting and Retaining Resource Families
      • Permanency With Relatives and Kin
      • Guardianship
      • Permanency for Specific Youth Populations
      • Legal and Court Issues in Permanency
      • Interjurisdictional Placements
      • Working With Children, Youth, and Families in Permanency Planning
      • Working With Children, Youth, and Families After Permanency
      • Resources for Administrators and Managers About Permanency
      • Resources for Families About Permanency
    • Adoption
      • National Adoption Month
      • All-In Foster Adoption Challenge
      • Children's Bureau Adoption Call to Action
      • Adoption and Guardianship Assistance by State
      • Introduction to Adoption
      • Ethical Issues in Adoption
      • For Adopted People
      • For Adoption Program Managers & Administrators
      • For Expectant Parents Considering Adoption and Birth Parents
      • How to Adopt
      • Laws Related to Adoption
      • Parenting After Adoption
      • Preplacement Adoption Casework Practice
      • Postplacement Adoption Casework Practice
      • Search & Reunion in Adoption
    • Management & Supervision
      • Administering & Managing Child Welfare Agencies & Programs
      • Child Welfare Practice Improvement
      • Disaster Preparedness & Response
      • Ethical Practice & Client Rights
      • Evaluating Program and Practice Effectiveness
      • Funding
      • Information Systems & Data
      • Supervising Child Welfare Services
      • System Reform
      • Training
      • Workforce
    • Systemwide
      • Assessment
      • Behavioral Health & Wellness
      • Courts
      • Cultural Responsiveness
      • Diverse Populations and Communities
      • Domestic Violence
      • Human Trafficking
      • Laws & Policies
      • Service Array
      • Statistics
      • Well-Being
      • Youth
  • Publications
    • Publications Series
    • Browse by Topic
    • Browse by Title
    • índice de Títulos en Español (Spanish Title Index)
  • Library
    • Library Services
    • Library Search Help
  • State Resources
    • State Statutes
    • National Foster Care & Adoption Directory
    • State Guides & Manuals Search
    • State-Related Organizations Lists
    • Adoption and Guardianship Assistance by State
  • More Tools & Resources
    • Related Organizations
    • Learning Center
    • Resources From the Children's Bureau
      • Children's Bureau Discretionary Grants
      • The Story of the Children's Bureau
      • Children's Bureau Video Series
    • Child Welfare Information Gateway Podcast Series
    • Multimedia
      • Videos
      • Webinars
    • Family Engagement Inventory
  • News & Events
    • Free Subscriptions
    • Adoption Triad
    • Children's Bureau Express (CBX)
    • The Grantee Connection
    • New on Information Gateway
    • New From the Children's Bureau
    • Event Calendar
  • Home
  • Topics
  • Achieving & Maintaining Permanency
  • Reunifying Families
  • Reunification With Parents With Substance Use Disorders

Reunification With Parents With Substance Use Disorders

When the parent of a child in out-of-home care has been affected by substance use recovery timelines are an important factor in supporting family reunification efforts. Many jurisdictions have developed specialized programs to bring child welfare, substance abuse treatment programs, and court systems together to support reunification. The following resources also include State and local examples.

Child Custody and Mothers With Substance Use Disorder: Unintended Consequences (PDF - 239 KB)
Grant (2015)
University of Washington, Alcohol & Drug Abuse Institute
Describes how alcohol or drug addicted mothers who do not complete treatment are likely to use again and how alcohol/drug treatment combined with support services from child welfare systems can help interrupt this pattern of unintended consequences. Guidelines for how and when to consider reunification with children are also provided.

Effect of a Parenting Intervention on Foster Care Reentry After Reunification Among Substance-Affected Families: A Quasi-Experimental Study (PDF - 578 KB)
Abstract
Akin, Brook, Lloyd, & McDonald (2017)
Child Maltreatment, 22(3)
Provides findings from a study on the relationship between parents participating in an intervention program and children reentering into the foster care system. The study concludes with policy and practice recommendations. 

Guidance to States: Recommendations for Developing Family Drug Court Guidelines (PDF - 2,796 KB)
Children and Family Futures & U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (2015)
Provides 10 recommendations for practices and principles for developing and sustaining family drug courts that lead to positive outcomes for children and families, including family reunification. The guidance includes information on complying with the Indian Child Welfare Act, steps to develop State guidelines and standards, and more. 

Helping Families Stay Intact
Mental Health America
Lists strategies advocates can use to help keep parents with mental illness and their children together. This includes advocating for specialized services for parents with serious mental illness, facilitating parent-child visitation during hospitalization, and more. 

How Does Family Drug Treatment Court Participation Affect Child Welfare Outcomes? (PDF- 352 KB)
Gifford, Eldred, Vernerey, & Sloan (2014)
Child Abuse & Neglect, 38(10)
Examines how parental participation in the Family Drug Court program affects the length of time for their children in foster care and whether participation in Family Drug Court affects reunification rates for youth in foster care. Findings showed that parental completion of a Family Drug Court program was associated with reduced lengths of stay in foster care, but reunification patterns varied, and children whose parents completed these programs were more likely to be reunified.

Plans of Safe Care: An Issue Brief for Judicial Officers (PDF - 409 KB)
National Quality Improvement Center for Collaborative Community Court Teams & National Center for State Courts (2020)
Provides guidance to judicial officers on implementing plans of safe care to address the health needs of substance-exposed infants and their families. 

Plans of Safe Care for Infants With Prenatal Substance Exposure and Their Families

Series Title
State Statutes
Author(s)
Child Welfare Information Gateway
Availability
View
Download (PDF - 691KB)
Year Published
2020
Examines State laws and policies regarding the development and implementation of plans of safe care that are required by the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to ensure the safety and well-being of infants who are identified as being affected by prenatal substance use. The issues addressed include notification/reporting requirements; assessment of the infant and family; development of the plan of safe care; services for the infant, parents, or other caregivers; and monitoring plans of safe care.

Reasonable and Active Efforts, and Substance Use Disorders: A Toolkit for Professionals Working With Families In or At Risk of Entering the Child Welfare System (PDF - 378 KB)
National Quality Improvement Center for Collaborative Community Court Teams & American Bar Association, Center on Children and the Law (2020)
Provides information for legal professionals about the reasonable and active efforts requirements, examples of how to meet those standards, and ways to use reasonable efforts to support families affected by substance use disorders. 

What Are Some of the Strategies Being Used to Reunite Families With Substance Use Disorders?
Casey Family Programs (2017)
Highlights a number of key issues child welfare agencies must consider when developing strategies to support reunification with families in substance use treatment and recovery. 

(Back to Top)

State and local examples

Eighth Judicial District Court Specialty Court Programs
Eight Judicial District Court Clark County, Nevada
Describes Clark County’s specialty Treatment Court Model, which is designed to engage individuals with substance use disorder histories in counseling, supervision, and education to improve outcomes for children and families. 

Family Recovery and Reunification Program: Intensive Case Management for Substance-Involved Parents With Children in Foster Care (PDF - 184 KB)
Illinois Department of Child and Family Services (2017)
Describes the Illinois Department of Family Services' Family Recovery and Reunification Program, which helps children who have been removed from their parents due to substance use-related abuse or neglect. The goal of the program is to reunify families when parents can provide a safe and drug-free home for their children.

Matching Service to Need: How Family Drug Courts Identify, Assess and Support Families to Achieve Recovery, Safety, and Permanency (PDF - 789 KB)
National Family Drug Court Training and Technical Assistance Program (2016)
Discusses the implementation of adult drug court experiences, literature, and research into the development of Family Drug Courts in California.

Opiate Epidemic
Public Children Services Association of Ohio
Explores Ohio's efforts to address the opiate epidemic and how parental addiction can impact permanency for children in foster care in that State. The brief also includes policy recommendations that would help with family reunification.

Regional Partnership Grant Program
National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare
Provides reports, syntheses, webinars, and other information on the Children’s Bureau discretionary grantees focused on improving well-being, permanency, and enhance the safety of children affected by substance use disorders. The website includes an interactive map that features site-specific information on grantees.

Transitioning to a Family-Centered Approach: Best Practices and Lessons Learned From Three Adult Drug Courts (PDF - 979 KB) 
Children and Family Futures & National Drug Court Institute (2017)
Examines three drug courts from Florida, Michigan, and Montana that are in the process of transitioning from a traditional drug court to one that has expanded services for families and children and focuses on interagency collaboration. 

What Is Connecticut’s Family-Based Recovery Program?
Casey Family Program (2019)
Details an intensive, in-home treatment program for parents with substance use disorders with children in foster care or at-risk for removal. 

(Back to Top)

Spotlight On

National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare

National Strategic Plan for Family Drug Courts (PDF - 443 KB)

Children and Family Futures (2017)

Related Content

Family Treatment Courts for Families Affected by Substance Use Disorders in Child Welfare

Children's Bureau - An office of the Administration for Children and Families

Child Welfare Information Gateway is a service of the

  • Children’s Bureau
  • Administration for Children and Families
  • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
↑ Back to top
  • HOME
  • TOPICS
    • Family-Centered Practice
    • Child Abuse & Neglect
    • Preventing Child Abuse & Neglect
    • Responding to Child Abuse & Neglect
    • Supporting & Preserving Families
    • Out-of-Home Care
    • Achieving & Maintaining Permanency
    • Adoption
    • Management & Supervision
    • Systemwide
  • National Initiatives
    • National Adoption Month
    • National Child Abuse Prevention Month
    • National Foster Care Month
  • Publications
    • Publications Series
    • Browse by Title
    • Browse by Topic
    • Índice de Títulos en Español
  • Library
    • Search the Library
  • State Resources
    • State Statutes
    • National Foster Care & Adoption Directory
    • State Guides & Manuals
    • State Related Organizations Lists
    • Adoption Assistance by State
  • More Tools & Resources
    • Related Organizations
    • Learning Center
    • Children's Bureau Resources
    • Information Gateway Podcast
    • Multimedia
    • Family Engagement Inventory
  • NEWS AND EVENTS
    • New on Information Gateway
    • New From the Children's Bureau
    • Event Calendar
  • ABOUT US
    • How to Report Child Abuse or Neglect
    • Find Help With a Personal Situation
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Glossary
    • Search A to Z
  • Contact Us
    • 1-800-394-3366
    • info@childwelfare.gov
    • Subscribe to Free Updates
    • Chat With Us
  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Follow us on YouTube
  • POLICIES & HELPFUL LINKS
    • Disclaimer and Policies
    • Privacy Policy
    • Accessibility
    • FOIA requests
    • No FEAR Act data
    • Office of the Inspector General
    • Performance reports
    • Vulnerability Disclosure Policy
    • USA.gov
    • Download Acrobat Reader
  • ↑ Back to top