[Aszina]

Substance abuse by parents play a huge role in child maltreatment. Most of the time it starts during the prenatal phase. The article states prenatal substance abuse use is as high as 30% in some populations. Prenatal abuse is a huge risk factor for maltreatment, studies show children with parents who abuse alcohol or drugs are more likely to neglect or abuse their children than in a normal household. Children that come from substance abuse households tend to stay in child protective services much longer. There are so many children in foster care due to substance abuse. The impact that substance abuse parents have in children can affect their social and emotional development, cause depression, mental health symptoms, and poor cognitive skills. Children would rather be with their real families than be put in foster care, not all homes in foster care are good homes. These parents are so wrapped up in their addictions they don’t realize the impact it has on their children. No child should have to suffer because the parent has an addiction. I’m glad child welfare have laws put in place for prenatal substance abuse. At this time childwelfare be so overwhelmed with work lots of kids might get over looked and not get the help they need from the system.

[Gregona]

It is a well known fact that prenatal substance abuse affect children tremendously starting in the womb and continuing. After reading this article, I am left with the question of why some states have so much resources at their disposal and some do not. I believe that in New York, the resources are lacking and maybe it’s a question of funding. I do believe that a lot more lobbying needs to be done so we can get a piece of the pie for our children and substance addicted parents. I know that the Child Protective Services in New York is stretched and the staff suffer from being overworked but I have come to realize that they are underfunded and lack much needed services.
The article did not mention that some of the parents who become dependant on drugs may have been babies born to substance addicted women themselves. Sometimes it’s a revolving door effect. We need mentoring and parental support services not only reporting parents and having their children taken from them in some circumstances. We need to seek grants and have more discussions on the gravity of this phenomenon. Our children are suffering. The part of the article that especially stood out for me was where mention was made of the children being put into foster care or up for adoption after 15 consecutive months out of 22. It may sound like a long time but sometimes due to the time frame of the women’s substance abuse, they may need more time.

[Zerica]

It is very important that everyone has a family. However, the probability of one in every ten families is torn apart because of addiction and violence and the impact on the children. Children lives are affected by the action of their parents who are addicted to drugs. These parents put their children lives at risk and for most part the court gets involve and the children are taken away from the parents who sometimes do not see them because of their addiction. There is an alarming high percent of children who may not experience drugs use, yet they are been abuse and dragged into the system of welfare. It is hard to see all these children in foster care and some are adopted because their parents are unable to take care of them. Will there ever going to be another way for these parents to see the danger these children faces? It is very sad to see the way these children live, parents finding time to get high and get angry at these poor children. Some of these children are affected because of the drugs their parents took while been pregnant, some are disabled both physical and mentally. I think that when people are caught with substance abuse they should be mandated by the court to attend a treatment program and if they refuse they face jail time. The service that they provided for children and parents who suffer with substance use issues should more rigid this way so many children would not have to suffer. I think that there are a number of resources out there but it is not been use the way it suppose to.

[Odalys Cortes]

“State and local surveys have documented prenatal substance use as high as 30 percent in some populations (Chasnoff, 2010). Based on NSDUH data from 2011 and 2012, approximately 5.9 percent of pregnant women aged 15 to 44 were current illicit drug users.” Reading this article was really eye opening to child welfare within substance use parents. Not only do children living with substance use parents can create risk but also how other issue play a factor for becomeing a substance user. Parents that have occurring issues may lead to the reason of substance use and the child maltreatment. Parents that have on going issues like posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), mostly common if the parent experience childhood physical and or sexual assault . “Many parents with substance abuse problems also experience social isolation, poverty, unstable housing, and domestic violence. ” Issues like that can lead to families not meeting the needs of the child , can lead to domestic violence, unemployment because parent are focus on the drugs or drinking, and if the parent is unemployed it can lead to having housing problems.

[Mindy Perez]

As I was going through the reading I noticed that there was a wealth of information there about how children could be affected by substance abuse. however, I did not like how situations were highlighted. Focusing on families receiving assistance was addressed and I do not like how it was thrown in. But I will say it is important to acknowledge that substances can lead to maltreatment and that other factors, such as second hand smoking , need to be discussed at length. Drugs laying around the home is a factor I did not see accounted for, although it is mentioned that children seeing drug abuse first hand increases the likelihood that they will partake in some sort of substances. it is important to highlights the issues and address them. I would like to know what the holistic services were that were being thought up to provide for families facing this issue. I would also like to know why there isn’t mention of academic programs that help prevent children make bad decisions in regards to substance abuse. programs such as G.R.E.A.T.- Gang Resistance Education and Training. I noted that they talked about some state run programs that provide direct drug counseling and treatment, but those outreach groups could be doing so much more.

[Kaitsee]

Reading this article was very interesting to me. I thought I knew how much of an impact substance abuse had on children but I have learned more from this reading.The stats did amaze me because I have heard of stories and T.V shows on the impact substance can have on children but I did not know the stats were so high. Growing around parents who abuse drugs or alcohol starts to become an issue for the children and their future. I believe that some children will grow up and want to be better but just how the article states there is a percentage of children who can fall into the same pattern. In the article it speaks on other situations that substance users experience which I do come to believe these problems makes it harder on the parents. Parents to do not realize the risk they are putting their children at and the outcome of it all. The parents are not thinking of what can happen to their children and how this affects them in the long run. Of course they do not realize the impact because being a user blocks you from all of this and seeing reality. Although sometimes being put in a foster home or being put in the system isn’t what we want it becomes necessary for the well-being of the children to not be around that environment. I believe there are so much more that can be done for parents, children and families who deal with this issue. There are programs now that are trying to help improve it all. Our children and well-being are primary and need to be put first because we do not want them to suffer. Children do not want to be taken from their parents and I am sure there are parents who loves their children and want them but substance use takes over.

[Kharyn Benjamin]

It is crucial for everyone to have a family. After reading the article it is a sad reality that one in ten families are apart due to drugs, addiction and violence. Parents who suffer from addiction greatly affect their children lives and how they grow and develop. Children grow up modeling what they see and even if some parents don’t abuse their children they can still be neglected or they feel what they are seeing is something that is okay to do. My clients who I work with have been in the system since they were children and it is because of their parent’s drug abuse and not being able to take care of them. Also it is sad that children are born with a disability because their mother was taking drugs during pregnancy and not getting the proper care. Parents suffering from substance use causes unstable housing, poverty and it can cause a cycle for children to follow.

[Sasure]

This article shown a very big connection between substance/drug abuse and child neglect/maltreatment. Seeing the statistics were very eye-opening to this epidemic. Reading that 8.3 million children under 18 lived with at least one substance abuse dependent/abusing parent was very heartbreaking. Parents have a duty to their children to take care of themselves and to love themselves just as much as their own children, in doing so they can set an example for their children. Parents with a substance/drug abuse disorder often can not show the necessary attention and care that is needed. The articles gives examples of how these disorders can severely effect a person’s parenting skills (difficulty balances emotions/anger issues, spending money on drugs instead of necessities like food/clothes, and detachment from family). The article also goes over programs that put in motion to help children in families that are involved in drug abuse. Even though these programs are there to ultimately not help the child but also the parent (to hopefully end their substance/drug abuse), the reality is that many of the services are not received due to many blocks (inadequate funds, knowledge gaps, etc). Its important to know of these blocks in order to understand how we can improve on these issues further. The article highlighted how this can be improved by more collaboration between multiple groups (treatment programs, child welfare, courts, etc).

[nyay nyay]

This reading is not surprisingly new because we do hear, see or experience in one way or another. Some people may use drugs for a reason while others might use them for fun. When someone consumes alcohol or drugs regularly, they become addicted because they depend on and tolerance for the drug and struggling to cut back on it. Nowadays, many people become drugs addicted or substance abuse. Drugs addicted lead people in negatively and unpleasant ways. Often time substance users only care for themselves. They only focus on drugs, rather than food, family or other needs. Because of this, they lack of family support and childcare. Parents with substance use neglect and abandon their own kids. It reminds me of one of the single mothers with four beautiful children. She was an alcoholic. She drank and drunk every single day. Her kids were in crisis because she neglected and left them to starve. Neighbors who were mercy on her kids, brought them food to eat. This happened back home if it’s in America or a developing country, the children would definitely taken away from her. In this situation, many children in developing countries are taken away from their parents and place them in a foster care.

Why do parents with substance use want to have kids in the first place if they lack of responsibilities as parents? I believe, all children deserve to be loved, cared and to rise by their biological parents.

In developing countries like America, fortunately, nowadays, there are varieties of programs that provided for parents and children with their needs. These programs help them how to become better parenting and most importantly to become sober. They are doing this because they are trying to get the families to be reunited with one another.

[Nicole]

The Mary Ellen Case was an eye-opener to America. It showed that children need rights and protection as well. It’s unfortunate that animals would have rights to protect them before children but the law preventing crutley of animals showed how to set up laws for those who can not protect themselves. As well as that rights need to be made specifically for children because they cannot defend or care from themselves. Marys Ellen story shows the importance of contuining to make efforts in proventing child cruelty and the importance of speaking out when knowing of possible wrong doing to a child. Which we can see still nowadays.

[Jorge Perez]

After hearing the case of Mary Allen, it brings joys and satisfaction to know we have laws that protect children. It’s really sad a young innocent child had to live under those conditions, and what broke my heart is how she expressed herself. All she ever wanted was love, and the fact that she wasn’t even allowed to go outside was troubling to hear. Her pain and misery resulted in change within her society, and for the future generations. Her rescue helped create child laws, because the public witnessed firsthand the gruesome life a young innocent girl had to live, and it was a painful sight to encounter for some people.

[Jorge Perez]

The article on Parental Substance Abuse and the Child Welfare System provides a lot of good information on how to work with this population, and what are different solutions to combating parental substance use. I feel the system are taking great precautions when dealing with a child’s safety, by implementing a lot of methods and programs that is designed to help families that have a substance abuse issue. I think it’s better than just taking the child away from the home, and dumping them into the foster care with no hopes of reunification. The child welfare system continues to improve and evolve with time, and more laws and procedures are put into practice for the sake of a child’s well-being; and the family as well. I believe the approach the child welfare system is using helps families reunify and work out there differences, which in return creates a positive relationship with the child welfare system and families that are dealing with substance issues.

[Samantha]

Mary Ellen Story

Mary Ellen Story
I thought that her story was extremely heartbreaking. I thought it was a good thing that the people in the community had expressed their worries. The fact that one individual had alarmed someone help to bring awareness to Ellen’s situation. In addition, the social worker on Ellen case, ( Etta Angel Wheeler) also played an important role. I thought it was great that she would go out into the community to help the less fortunate. Henry Bergh and Ellen Wheeler did a great deal with changing Ellen life forever when they recused her.
My afterthought from Ellen’s story is what psychological and social effects did Ellen endure in her adult life.