Parental Criminal Justice Involvement and Children's Involvement with Child Protective Services: Do Adult Drug Treatment Courts Prevent Child Maltreatment?
BACKGROUND:
In light
of evidence showing reduced criminal recidivism and cost savings, adult drug treatment
courts have grown in popularity. However, the potential spillover benefits to family
members are understudied.
OBJECTIVES:
To examine:
(1) the overlap between parents who were convicted of a substance-related offense
and their children's involvement with child protective services (CPS); and (2) whether
parental participation in an adult drug treatment court program reduces children's
risk for CPS involvement.
METHODS:
Administrative
data from North Carolina courts, birth records, and social services were linked
at the child level. First, children of parents convicted of a substance-related
offense were matched to (a) children of parents convicted of a nonsubstance-related
offense and (b) those not convicted of any offense. Second, we compared children
of parents who completed a DTC program with children of parents who were referred
but did not enroll, who enrolled for <90 days but did not complete, and who enrolled
for 90+ days but did not complete. Multivariate logistic regression was used to
model group differences in the odds of being reported to CPS in the 1 to 3 years
following parental criminal conviction or, alternatively, being referred to a DTC
program.
RESULTS:
Children of
parents convicted of a substance-related offense were at greater risk of CPS involvement
than children whose parents were not convicted of any charge, but DTC participation
did not mitigate this risk. Conclusion/Importance: The role of specialty courts
as a strategy for reducing children's risk of maltreatment should be further explored.
- 1 Center for Child and Family Policy , Duke University , Durham , North Carolina , USA.
- 2 Department of Economics , Duke University , Durham , North Carolina , USA.
- Subst Use Misuse. 2016 Jan 20:1-14
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