Exploring the Connection between Kinship Caregiving and Substance Use Disorder Prevention
This past Sunday was Mother's Day, and Father’s Day lies just around the corner. As you celebrate these holidays, we invite you to reflect on your relationships with your caregivers and loved ones. Family support provides valuable structure as we navigate the world around us. Yet sometimes parents face challenges with keeping families together.
“36% of children enter[ed] the foster care system in 2017 because of parental drug use, compared with 15% in 2000” (APA).
The timeline of this dramatic increase mirrors that of the opioid epidemic. Appalachian states were, and continue to be, disproportionately affected by this crisis.
“In 2016, five out of six states with the highest rates of death from opioid overdoses had increases in foster care rates, with West Virginia holding the highest rates of both” (APA).
When children enter foster care, social workers try to place them within extended kin networks. According to Henrico County’s Department of Social Services, there are multiple benefits to children staying with relatives. Children are more likely to stay in their schools of origin if placed with a kinship caregiver, reducing instability. Additionally, sibling groups are more likely to be maintained if placed with kin. These factors are aligned with preventing substance use in children and can support families struggling with SUD. For more information on Henrico County’s foster care study on the link between kinship caregivers and substance use disorder, click here.
Data shows that working to prioritize kinship care may have an effect on foster children developing SUD. According to the National Foster Youth Institute, “1 in 2 youth who age out of foster care develop substance use disorder”. Aging out of foster care likely means that a child experienced a long term lack of stability. Kinship caregivers, alternatively, tend to increase stability for children.
“In Virginia, foster care youth placed with kinship caregivers achieve permanency at a rate of 97% and 0% age out.”
While this foster care data shows important patterns, there is no exact answer to why each person may or may not experience challenges with substance use. However, acknowledging the risk factors that influence substance use disorder, such as childhood trauma and instability, helps us to understand what prevention looks like. To learn more about the connection between childhood trauma and substance use disorder, click here.
Moving forward, let's continue to celebrate the hard work of those who take care of us, whether they are mothers, fathers, grandparents, siblings or friends. Kinship looks different for everyone, but love is a strong supportive factor no matter who it comes from.
American Psychological Association. (2019, November 1). More kids in foster care. Monitor on Psychology, 50(10). https://www.apa.org/monitor/2019/11/numbers-foster-care