"Factors Associated With Parental Substance Use and Child Welfare in Ne" by Lisa Christine Lee

Date of Conferral

1-8-2025

Degree

Doctor of Public Health (DrPH)

School

Public Health

Advisor

Joseph Robare

Abstract

Substance use is a growing public health concern that is adversely impacting reproductive-aged individuals and families (Bruzelius & Martins, 2022). Parental substance use is increasingly driving family separation through the child welfare system. Substance use and family separation intersect with trauma and adverse childhood experiences in a variety of ways. Risk factors and race/ethnicity may contribute to family surveillance, bias, and disproportionality in child welfare and impact reunification and cause further trauma. This study explored associations between household characteristics and risk factors and services provided to families with reunification goals for families with child welfare involvement due to substance use in Nevada from 2019 through 2021. It used a sample of 931 cases of children placed in out-of-home care, for which parental substance use was a factor for removal, from the linked administrative datasets of the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) and Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) and was framed by the social-ecological model. A regression model was used to test the associations between the household characteristics, risk factors, and services with reunification goals. The analysis revealed that the child's age at the time of the report or family structure were not predictors of reunification goals. Race, inadequate housing, multiple risk factors, and transitional housing were all predictors of reunification goals. This study promotes positive social change that can inform policies, programs, and practices aimed at disrupting family separation, intergenerational trauma, and substance use.

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