Study confirms more children, especially rural children, are entering foster care because their parents abuse drugs

Chart from the study; click the image to enlarge it.

Since 2000, the number of children in foster care because of parental drug use has more than doubled, and rural children make up an increasing share, according to a newly published study in JAMA Pediatrics.

"Using data from the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System, researchers found that child removals due to parental drug use rose 147 percent over the last two decades -- from 39,130 in 2000 to 96,672 in 2017," Mattie Quinn reports for Governing magazine. "Parental substance abuse now accounts for about a quarter of foster care entries across the country."

Of all children in foster care because of parental drug use, the percentage of rural children rose from 1.84% in 2000-05 to 2.52% in 2012-17 — a nearly 37% increase. Among all children in foster care for reasons other than parental drug use, the share of rural children decreased from 2.02% in 2000-05 to 1.85% in 2012-17 — an 8.4% drop, the study found.

Among children who entered foster care because of parental drug use, almost half were from the South, and more than half were white. Black children were more likely to enter foster care for other reasons than parental drug abuse, and Hispanic children were equally likely to enter foster care for parental drug use or for other reasons, the study says.

"These troubling trends are playing out at a time when the foster-care system is in the middle of a major overhaul," Quinn notes. "The Family First Prevention Services Act, which was signed by President Trump last year, will restructure the system to focus more on preventing family separations and reducing the dependence on group homes. The new law requires foster care entities to provide mental health care, in-home parenting programs and substance abuse treatment to parents at risk of losing their children."

The law takes effect in October, but the federal government has been slow in announcing details, s most states have chosen to defer implementation for two years, Quinn reports. It will limit stays in group homes, which could complicate foster care in rural areas, which are short of such homes.

 "Critics of the law argue that while its intentions are good, the outcomes might initially do more harm than good," Quinn reports. "With many foster care agencies already struggling to handle the number of kids, dramatically revamping the system to focus on keeping kids with families ignores the maxed-out realities and the lack of resources available to switch to a new framework."