Child Welfare Information Gateway – 2003
Substance abuse has a major impact on the child welfare system. It is estimated that 9 percent of children in this country (6 million) live with at least one parent who abuses alcohol or other drugs (Office of Applied Studies, 2003). Research has demonstrated that children of substance abusing parents are more likely to experience abuse—physical, sexual, or emotional—or neglect than children in non-substance abusing households (DeBellis, Broussard, Herring, Wexler, Moritz, & Benitez, 2001; Dube, Anda, Felitti, Croft, Edwards, & Giles, 2001; Chaffin, Kelleher, & Hollenberg, 1996; Kelleher, Chaffin, Hollenberg, & Fischer, 1994).