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Parental drug and alcohol use as a contributing factor in applications to the Children's Court for protection orders

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 February 2016

Lindsay Leek ,
Diane Seneque  and
Kaija Ward
Lindsay Leek
Affiliation:
Information, Research and Evaluation, Department for Child Protection, Perth, WA, Email: lindsay.leek@dcp.wa.gov.au
Diane Seneque
Affiliation:
ASSIST Support Team, Department for Child Protection, WA
Kaija Ward
Affiliation:
Information, Research and Evaluation, Department for Child Protection, WA
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Abstract

Drug use has a significant negative impact on the ability of parents to provide safe care for children and an outcome of this is the entry of some of these children into out-of-home care. This poses particular challenges for service providers, not only because of the complex nature of addiction, but also the many other issues facing these families. This paper reports on studies conducted by the Western Australian Department for Community Development in 2004 and 2007 which explored parental drug and alcohol use as a contributing factor in applications to the Children's Court for protection orders. The results of the 2004 study showed that parental drug and alcohol use was the second most common contributing factor in protection applications after neglect. It was also confirmed that drug and alcohol use rarely occurs in isolation, with strong links identified to neglect and domestic violence, as well as other factors, including physical abuse and homelessness/transient lifestyle. The 2007 follow-up study further highlighted the co-existence of parental drug and alcohol use and domestic violence.

Type
Research Article
Information
Children Australia , Volume 34 , Issue 2 , 2009 , pp. 11 - 16
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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