Addiction

Addiction is a major factor in children being placed in foster care. Many parents struggling with addiction fear that reaching out for treatment will lead to a child welfare investigation, yet living with addiction also puts kids at risk. Stories in this section offer guidance and information on getting clean, repairing relationships with children affected by addiction, and knowing your legal rights in seeking treatment.

Paying a Higher Price – Mothers of color, drugs and child welfare: What parents need to know

January 01, 2015 by

White and Black people in this country have similar rates of illegal drug use, but research shows that Black parents come to the attention of the child welfare system for drug use at far higher rates. One 1990 Florida study found that doctors were 10 times more likely to report Black women for drug use during pregnancy than White women. A more recent study, conducted between 2001 and 2007 in California, found that … Read More

Powerless and Alone – How could I stay sober when I felt like my child would never come home?

April 17, 2010 by

One day last fall I went to an anger management class. It was in a neighborhood where I used to get high. It didn’t even go through my mind that this could be a trigger for me. I believed I was strong but I was not.

At the time, I was consumed by feeling powerless and alone. My son, Brandan, had been in foster care for about a year. ACS took him when I was jailed … Read More

Taking It Slow – I have farther to go before my daughter comes home

June 01, 2006 by

I had always thought I was a good mother even though I used drugs. I gave my daughter, Barbie, food, clothes and a home. I gave her love, too, by holding her and kissing her and playing with her. I would look in amazement at how beautiful she was growing.

But even though all this was true, part of me was kidding myself. When I used drugs, the chemicals altered my mood. I wouldn’t … Read More

Back to top

Translate »