“Some Workers Think That You Should Just Stop”: Expectations of Personal Responsibility In CPS Investigations of Parents with Substance Use Disorder.

Background. Research shows a strong connection between parental substance use disorder (SUD) and allegations of child maltreatment. In popular discourse, SUD is frequently characterized as a failure of personal willpower, and parental substance use is penalized through the carceral state. Yet SUD is better understood as a health issue, reflecting an interplay of biological vulnerabilities, intergenerational trauma histories, and environmental factors. Relatively little research has explored the experiences of parents with SUD who became involved with Child Protective Services (CPS). Some research indicates that parents experience CPS involvement as negative and stigmatizing. This study explored how parents with SUD described their experiences with CPS. It utilized a critical realist framework to explore the role of neoliberal conceptions of individual responsibility in parents’ descriptions of their experiences.

Methods. The study consisted of interviews with 31 adults ages 18-64 (87% female; 74% Black or Latinx) residing in a northeastern state. All participants had received outpatient treatment for SUD and were parents or primary caregivers of at least one child under the age of 18. All disclosed past or current child welfare involvement for any of their children, including maltreatment reports, investigations, child removals, or foster care placements. Participants completed a brief survey and an individual interview. The survey focused predominantly on demographics, patterns of substance use, and access to relevant services; the interview inquired about participants’ CPS involvement, perceptions of CPS, and suggestions for improving services for parents with SUD. Interview transcripts were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. The team identified preliminary codes, reviewed and refined the codebook, and grouped codes into broader themes.

Results. Participant responses both echoed and complicated simplistic narratives about individual responsibility and SUD recovery, describing a “one-size-fits-all” approach from CPS that did not serve all parents. Parents indicated that their experiences with CPS depended on their willingness to comply with the expectations of the system. Some described positive experiences, portraying system involvement as motivating them to work towards recovery and reunification. Yet many described the system as unhelpful, unjust, and in some cases unethical. Participants described a flawed, overburdened system that emphasized compliance and utilized approaches experienced as intimidating and punitive. Moreover, several participants had survived trauma in childhood and as adults, and described their encounters with CPS as further traumatizing them and their families.

Conclusion and Implications.

While most participants were clear-eyed about their own accountability in their recovery, many described their experiences of CPS as oppressive and offered numerous recommendations for improving child welfare policy and practice. Participants recommended improving training for workers on substance use and harm reduction, as well as strengthening the criteria for child removal. They advocated implementing a supportive, relational approach to working with parents with SUD, emphasizing collaboration rather than punishment. Participants also recommended a more holistic approach to assessment that understands and contextualizes families’ challenges. There is a need for greater understanding among CPS workers of the multiple factors that contribute to SUD, as well as a trauma-informed approach to working with parents who misuse alcohol or drugs.