Abstract: Geospatial Disparities In Child Welfare Involvement Due to Parental Substance Use: A National Study (Society for Social Work and Research 31st Annual Conference)

Schedule:

Saturday, January 23, 2027

Union Station 16 (Hilton San Francisco Union Square)

* noted as presenting author

Damone Wisdom, Doctoral Student, University of Texas at Arlington, TX

Catherine Labrenz, PhD, Associate Professor and Director Child Welfare Research Center, University of Texas at Arlington

Yun Chen, PhD, MSW, Assistant Professor, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX

Herman Nuake Kofi Agboh, MPhil, Doctoral Student, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX

Yao Wang, PhD, Assistant Professor, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX

Phillip Baiden, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Texas at Arlington, TX

Scott Ryan, MSW, MBA, PhD, Professor, University of Texas at Arlington, TX

Background and Purpose: Recently, experts have estimated that as many as one in eight children in the United States (U.S.) live with a parent with a substance use disorder. Parental substance use has been linked to several negative outcomes for children, including increased mental health issues, behavioral problems, and health issues. Moreover, given the intersection of substance use and negative parenting, approximately one-third of children who enter foster care each year are removed in part due to parental substance use. Emerging evidence has also documented rural-urban differences in child welfare investigations due to parental substance use. Yet, little research to date has examined factors associated with removal to parental substance use and how this association differs by rural-urban status. This is a particular gap given the variation in how the opioid epidemic and other recent drug epidemics such as the fentanyl crisis have disproportionately impacted some communities.

Method: This study utilized data from the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System, child file for the FFY 2021. The sample included 205,273 children from all 50 U.S. states plus Washington DC who entered care in FY 2021. A series of logistic regression models was conducted to examine the relationship between rurality and entries due to parental substance use while controlling for other child and parent factors. A final model examined whether race/ethnicity moderated the relationship between rurality and entries due to parental substance use.

Results: Approximately one-third of children entered care due to parental substance use. Children in non-metropolitan urban (AOR = 1.08, 95% CI = 1.05-1.11) and rural areas (AOR = 1.15, 95% CI = 1.07-1.24) had higher odds of entry due to parental substance use than their peers in large urban metropolitan areas. Children who were Black (AOR = 0.33, 95% CI = 0.32-0.34), Hispanic (AOR = 0.48, 95% CI = 0.47-0.50) or from other racial groups (AOR = 0.68, 95% CI = 0.66-0.70) had lower odds of entry due to parental substance use than their white peers. Race/ethnicity moderated the relationship between rurality and removals due to parental substance use; specifically, for children who were Black, Hispanic, or other racial groups, the relationship between more rural areas and removals due to parental substance use was attenuated.

Conclusions and Implications: Nationally, parental substance use remains one of the leading causes of child removal and subsequent foster care entry. Geospatial and racial disparities were observed, with children in large urban areas having the lowest odds of removal due to parental substance use. Findings highlight the need for future research to understand patterns of parental substance use and treatment options in non-metropolitan areas. Further research is also needed to examine potential biases in decision-making that may lead to increased odds of removal due to parental substance use for families of color in smaller urban and rural areas.