Social worlds in collision: When policy meets policy on parental substance abuse

The risk of child abuse and neglect is higher in families where the parent(s) abuse substances, with the highest incidence in families where both parents abuse alcohol. The interplay between parental substance misuse and child maltreatment has become a crucial issue in statutory child protection work and consequently for those who work intensively with clients in their homes. Not all children of substance-abusing parents are ‘at risk’ of harm, however, and abstention from drug usage is not always a helpful treatment goal, nor indeed does it necessarily reduce the harm to a child under protective scrutiny.