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Citation |
Roscoe JN, Lery B, Chambers JE. Child Abuse Negl. 2018; 81: 235-248. |
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Affiliation |
Berkeley Social Welfare, 120 Haviland Hall, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, United States. Electronic address: jaclyn_chambers@berkeley.edu. |
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Copyright |
(Copyright © 2018, Elsevier Publishing) |
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DOI |
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PMID |
29772468 |
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Abstract |
Among children investigated for maltreatment, those with parents experiencing mental illness or substance abuse are more likely to be placed out-of-home; however, little is known about why these children are at greater risk. Using a sample of 2488 Structured Decision Making® assessments administered in San Francisco county from 2011 to 2015, we identified a profile of safety threats that accounts for why workers are more likely to determine children of parents with mental illness and/or substance abuse unsafe in the home. Eight percent of assessments in our sample involved parents with current mental illness only and 10% had comorbid substance abuse. The odds of an unsafe determination more than doubled among parents with mental illness (OR = 2.52, p < 0.001) and were nearly tenfold higher among parents with comorbid substance abuse (OR = 9.62, p < 0.001). Three safety threats accounted for all of the effect of parental mental illness on safety determination: caretaking impairment due to emotional stability/developmental status/cognitive deficiency (57%), failure to meet a child's immediate needs (30%), and threats of harm (14%). Three safety threats accounted for 55% of the effect of comorbid mental illness and substance abuse on safety determination: failure to meet a child's immediate needs (21%), presence of a drug-exposed infant (21%), and caretaking impairment due to emotional stability/developmental status/cognitive deficiency (14%). Language: en |
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Keywords |
Child welfare; Decision-making; Mediation; Mental illness; Substance abuse |