The helping system often responds to parents recovering from addiction in a way that reinforces their powerlessness and may perpetuate their addiction. This study identified worker and agency qualities that contribute to parents' recovery and family reunification. The authors conducted a qualitative study of successful clients of the child welfare system who regained their children after recovering from addiction. These parents describe the importance of workers' understanding the context of addiction from the parent's perspective. Parents' Views on Child Welfare's Response to Addiction hild-maltreatment incident re-C ports increased by 50% between 1988 and 1993, totaling more than 2.9 million reports in 1993 (McCurdy & Daro, 1994). Much of this increase can be attributed to substance abuse (Curtis & McCullough, 1993; General Accounting Office, 1994;McCurdy & Daro, 1994; Tatara, 1989 Tatara, -1990). The National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse's recent survey of public child welfare agencies indicates that as many as 80% of child-maltreatment cases are associated with alcohol and other drug problems (McCurdy & Daro, 1994). Moreover, substance abuse often inhibits the system's ability to meet the goal of preserving families. Children from substance-abusing families are more likely to remain in care longer and to experience multiple placements and are less likely to be reunited with their biological families (Besharov, 1990;Fanshel, 1975;Feig, 1990;Regan, Ehrlich, & Finnegan, 1987;Thompson, 1990;Walker, Zangrillo, & Smith, 1991). As the number of chemically dependent families entering the child welfare system increases, the field must find more effective responses to alcohol and drug abuse.Child Welfare Act of 1980 (PL 96-272) mandates the child welfare system to make "reasonable efforts" at keeping children and families together. Despite the growing influence of substance abuse, several studies suggest that many social workers are either ill prepared or unwilling to respond to this problem (Googins, 1984;Gregoire, 1994;Kagle, 1987; King, Bissell, & O'Brien, 1979;King & Lorenson, 1989;Morehouse, 1978;Peyton, 1980; Thompson, 1990;Van Wormer, 1987).In that alcohol and drug abuse is often perceived erroneously as a morally wrong, willful behavior, a common response is to punish parents (Rhodes & Johnson, 1994 FAMILIES IN SOCIETY JU/Y -August 7997that criminalize pregnant women for their addiction exemplify this reaction to alcohol and drug abuse (Gustavsson, 1991). However, punitive attitudes toward addiction only fuel stigmatization for families and inhibit help-seeking behavior (Finkelstein, 1994).sents a second characteristic response to addiction. Even when substance-abuse problems are identified, social workers frequently ignore or compartmentalize them as a separate life issue (Kagle, 1987). Some social workers subscribe to the notion that individuals must "hit bottom" before being helped. Others disregard the potential for change because of faulty beliefs that persons with substance-abuse proble...