Effects of Court-Ordered Substance Abuse Treatment in Child Protective Services Cases

Abstract

Courts often play active roles in the lives of families supervised by child protective services (CPS). Judges adjudicate dependency, mandate services, determine placements of children, and order continued supervision or termination of parental rights or services. This study examined the effects of court orders in preventing recurrence of substance abuse in the cases of 447 children in kinship care while under CPS supervision. In addition, the effects of court orders on duration of service and on numbers of placements were studied. Results suggested that court interventions had mixed outcomes. Levels of compliance with mandated substance abuse and mental health treatment did not appear to influence rates of reabuse or duration of service. Court orders appeared to affect both the number of caretakers and placements the children experienced. Children adjudicated dependent were more likely to have multiple caretakers than those under voluntary supervision.

Comparison of Repeated and Two Non-Repeated Readings Conditions on Reading Abilities of Students with Emotional and/or Behavioral Disabilities

“…Finding effective reading intervention strategies is necessary for students who are EBD (Ishii-Jordan, 2000) because there is a strong correlation between reading failure and school failure (Scott & Shearer-Lingo, 2002). Students with EBD are especially at risk for reading difficulties when they have other disabilities such as learning disabilities or attention deficit disorder (Rittner & Dozier, 2000). The NEP (2000) Repeated readings involves the reader repeatedly reading a short passage of usually no more than 200 words until fluency is achieved (Samuels, 1979;Stahl & Heubach, 2005;Therrien & Kubina, 2006).…”

“…Teachers have reported that fear of failure was so entrenched in students with EBD that these students often refused to participate in reading or to complete reading-related activities unless they were assured that they would succeed at the task (Atkinson, Wilhite, Frey, & Williams, 2002). Students with EBD are especially at risk for reading difficulties when they also have other disabilities such as learning disabilities or attention deficit disorder (Rittner & Dozier, 2000). As reported by Blumberg et al, 2003, more than half of the students (51.7%) who are labeled with an EBD, also have a learning disability making it necessary to differentiate their reading instruction in order to meet their academic needs.…”

Mothers, problematic substance use, and child welfare in northern British Columbia.

“…Maternal problematic substance use, particularly among women of lower socioeconomic status, increases the likelihood of child welfare involvement (Rittner & Davenport-Dozier, 2000;Semidei, Radel & Nolan, 2001;Trocme et al, 2005). Increased likelihood of involvement is especially true for single mothers and Aboriginal women (Boyd, 1999;Blackstock, Trocme, & Bennett, 2004).…”

“…A lack of social worker training in screening for problematic substance use and related problems interferes with thorough assessment of the family's functioning. Consequently, this lack of training also interferes with early and appropriate intervention (Dore, Doris, & Wright, 1995;Rittner & Davenport-Dozier, 2000).…”

“…Additionally, Jones, (2004) finds that mothers involved in child welfare with both problematic alcohol and drug use, are significantly more likely than mothers with neither to be charged with criminal involvement, incarcerated, and were themselves victims of child abuse. Maternal PSU, particularly among women living in poverty, increases the likelihood of child welfare involvement (Rittner & Davenport-Dozier, 2000;Semidie, et al, 2001;Trocme et al, 2005); this is especially true for single mothers and Aboriginal women (Blackstock, Trocme, & Bennett, 2004;Boyd, 1999 In Canada, a number of factors served to assimilate Aboriginal children into the dominant culture, and dismiss Aboriginal systems of care (Armitage, 1999;RCAP, 1996, in Blackstock, et al, 2004. The primary factors include colonization and the devastating legacy of residential schools, followed by the imposition of child protection legislation.…”