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New ACMD report http://www.drugs.gov.uk/Reportsand Publications/NationalStrategy/10547 33801?batch_start=1 http://www.drugs.gov.uk/ ReportsandPublications/National Strategy John Mosley. Visit www.drugsandstuff.co.uk Six key messages from the Inquiry Estimate of between 250,000 and 350,000 children of problem drug users in the UK – about one for every problem drug user. Parental problem drug use can and does cause serious harm to children at every age from conception to adulthood. Reducing the harm to children from parental problem drug use should become a main objective of policy and practice. Effective treatment of the parent can have major benefits for the child. By working together, services can take many practical steps to protect and improve the health and well-being of affected children. The number of affected children is only likely to decrease when the number of problem drug users decreases. John Mosley. Visit www.drugsandstuff.co.uk Child protection and substance use We should particularly be concerned with substance use that is dependant or chaotic. For the practitioner and the client, the ability to distinguish recreational use from problematic misuse is a crucial skill. Murphy, M. (1996). The Child Protection Unit. p 11. Aldershot: Avebury. John Mosley. Visit www.drugsandstuff.co.uk Links between problematic use and child protection To suggest that all parents who suffer from problem drug use present a danger to their children is misleading. Indeed, much research indicated that in isolation problem drug use of a parent presents little risk of significant harm to children. Cleaver H., Unell, I., and Aldgate, J., (1999) Children’s Needs Parenting Capacity, P.23, London; HMSO. John Mosley. Visit www.drugsandstuff.co.uk Family alcohol problems Double the risk of divorce/separation 40% of domestic violence incidents 25% of known child abuse cases 60% of Child Protection Register Robinson (2000) John Mosley. Visit www.drugsandstuff.co.uk It’s not the drinking, but... Violence in the home Marital/relationship conflict Separation, divorce, loss of parent Inconsistency and ambivalent parenting Unpredictability Drinking/parent centred not childcentred. John Mosley. Visit www.drugsandstuff.co.uk Effects on Family Life Inconsistency, changing moods Role reversal Communication Routines and rituals Social life Finances. John Mosley. Visit www.drugsandstuff.co.uk Effects on Family Functioning 1 Family conflict and disharmony Cruel, passive or neglectful parental attitude Inconsistent and unpredictable parenting Parents do not set clear or safe limits. John Mosley. Visit www.drugsandstuff.co.uk Effects on Family Functioning 2 Children take on parental role Parents are emotionally unavailable and distracted Outing and social events fraught with uncertainty Child fears parent might die or otherwise leave them Deprivation caused by poverty. John Mosley. Visit www.drugsandstuff.co.uk Effects on Children Anti-social behaviour - aggressive, delinquency, conduct disorders, hyperactivity Adolescence – problems associated with using drugs and alcohol Emotional problems - psycho-social problems, asthma, bedwetting, negative attitudes to self School environment - academic problems, difficulties learning, loss of confidence, conduct disorders. John Mosley. Visit www.drugsandstuff.co.uk Problem drinking parents are often: Unpredictable Aggressive Chaotic Inconsistent Unreliable. John Mosley. Visit www.drugsandstuff.co.uk Adverse consequences Typically multiple and cumulative Failure to thrive Blood-borne infections Incomplete immunisation and inadequate health care Wide range of emotional, cognitive, behavioural and other psychological problems Early substance misuse and offending behaviour Poor educational attainment ACMD (2003) John Mosley. Visit www.drugsandstuff.co.uk Longer Term Effects Effects on transition to adulthood Friendship difficulties Division between home and peers - home seen as negative Drinking alcohol/drug-taking at an earlier age Leaving home early - by comparison with others Prescribed psycho-active drugs as children and adolescents (27% v 3%) by age 17 Earlier marriages - seeking social stability. John Mosley. Visit www.drugsandstuff.co.uk Children of Problem Drinkers Do not expect adults to provide well for them Do not anticipate love, warmth or friendship Are hyper-vigilant towards changing moods Take too much or too little responsibility See positive outcomes to problems as exceptions Do not trust adults to be fair Find it difficult to relax and enjoy things Expect and even create conflict in relationships. John Mosley. Visit www.drugsandstuff.co.uk Protective Factors A non-drinking parent Cohesive parental relationship Cohesive family Rituals maintained Influence of important others Engaged with things outside the home Deliberate planning. John Mosley. Visit www.drugsandstuff.co.uk How to Increase Resilience? Help a young person: See themselves as separate from family problems Develop belief in own abilities Understand and express feelings and emotions Cope with difficulties and problem solve Engage in activities outside family Develop their own plans for the future John Mosley. Visit www.drugsandstuff.co.uk Alcohol, Childcare and Parenting Information from: Wendy Robinson, NSPCC/ARP Family Alcohol Service To receive a copy of the NSPCC publication ‘Alcohol, Childcare and Parenting - A Handbook for Practitioners’ send an A4 SAE with £1.58p in stamps to: Administrator, Family Alcohol Service, 88-91 Troutbeck House, off Robert Street, London NW1 4EJ John Mosley. Visit www.drugsandstuff.co.uk Prevalence of problematic use Research shows that many people experiment with drugs, with most trying them only once in a lifetime. Fewer, but a significant minority, use drugs regularly. Around one-third of people who have ever used drugs become regular drug users, and it has been predicted that roughly ten percent become problem drug users. SCODA. (1997). Drug Using Parents: Policy Guidelines for Interagency Working. p10. London: LGA Publications. John Mosley. Visit www.drugsandstuff.co.uk Child abuse Child abuse is an interaction that involves the significant mistreatment of the relatively powerless participant (usually the child or young person) by the participant with more power (usually the parent or adult). This interaction will frequently be affected and partly defined by the child’s chronological age, legal status, dependency, and developmental immaturity. The definition of what is child abuse will change over time and is affected by the perspectives and values that are influential in society. Murphy, M. (1996). The Child Protection Unit. p 11. Aldershot: Avebury. John Mosley. Visit www.drugsandstuff.co.uk Substance misuse Substance misuse is a compulsion or desire to continue taking a drug, or drugs in order to feel good or avoid feeling bad. The compulsion or desire is usually initiated following previously repeated use of the drug and is difficult to control. When the compulsion is to avoid physical discomfort, it is physical dependence; when it is to avoid anxiety or mental distress, or to promote stimulation or pleasure it is known as psychological dependence. SCODA. (1997). Drug Using Parents: Policy Guidelines for Interagency Working. London: LGA Publications. John Mosley. Visit www.drugsandstuff.co.uk Child protection and substance use We should particularly be concerned with substance use that is dependant or chaotic. For the practitioner and the client, the ability to distinguish recreational use from problematic misuse is a crucial skill. Murphy, M. (1996). The Child Protection Unit. p 11. Aldershot: Avebury. John Mosley. Visit www.drugsandstuff.co.uk Links between problematic use and child protection To suggest that all parents who suffer from problem drug use present a danger to their children is misleading. Indeed, much research indicated that in isolation problem drug use of a parent presents little risk of significant harm to children. Cleaver H., Unell, I., and Aldgate, J., (1999) Children’s Needs Parenting Capacity, P.23, London; HMSO. John Mosley. Visit www.drugsandstuff.co.uk Treatment and care for adult substance users Community Based Services might include Counselling / support Drop-in support Needle exchange Complementary therapies – acupuncture Medical based services might include Methadone prescriptions Community detox Access to inpatient detox John Mosley. Visit www.drugsandstuff.co.uk Treatment and care for adult substance users Social Services might include Counselling / support Access to funding for rehabilitation services Rehabilitation Services (a) Day centres and (b) residential services The services offered by rehabilitation services vary: Therapeutic input Vocational training Relapse prevention Support in gaining housing, employment, access to health services, access to children John Mosley. Visit www.drugsandstuff.co.uk Screening & Assessment Screening Refers to any process (reactive or proactive) used to identify whether someone is using drugs Assessment Occurs after drug use has been identified. Its meaning is a process that informs intervention planning by ascertaining the severity and pattern of drug use, and how the drug use affects the young person concerned. John Mosley. Visit www.drugsandstuff.co.uk The screening and assessment process 1 2 3 4 Screening Parental substance use what substance how much / how obtained / how taken when (pattern of use) who with cost lifestyle implications Effect on parenting capacity history of own parents expectation of self as parent basic care ensuring safety stability Effect on child's needs development basic needs protection self esteem relationships love and affection control child care demands stages of development personality special circumstances availability of other adults Stage 3 Assessing ability to parent Ensuring safety Stability Income John Mosley. Visit www.drugsandstuff.co.uk Stage 4 - Assessing the needs of the child Basic Care Emotional and behavioural development Stimulation Family and social relationships John Mosley. Visit www.drugsandstuff.co.uk why drugs? “That humanity at large will ever be able to dispense with Artificial Paradises seems very unlikely. Most men and women lead lives at the worst so painful, at the best so monotonous, poor and limited, that the urge to escape, the longing to transcend themselves if only for a few moments, is and always has been one of the principal appetites of the soul.” Huxley, A. (1951). The Doors of Perception. London: Penguin. John Mosley. Visit www.drugsandstuff.co.uk DATs are responsible for: assessing the need for services to tackle drug use/misuse locally and co-ordinating a response; providing information about local patterns of drug misuse; agreeing a local drug misuse strategy and planning/purchasing appropriate services; setting local targets; encouraging joint commissioning between member agencies; developing links with all relevant agencies; signing off local spending plans; reporting on progress towards objectives and targets; allocation of pooled treatment funding. John Mosley. Visit www.drugsandstuff.co.uk Young Person’s Holistic Needs Assessment Identifying substance related needs John Mosley. Visit www.drugsandstuff.co.uk Full assessment of substance related needs if required DrugScope / Home Office (2003: 9) Purpose of identifying substance related needs To identify: the young persons knowledge of drugs, alcohol and solvents if the young person uses drugs, alcohol or solvents if the young person misuses drugs, alcohol ir solvents if the young person is in immediate danger if substance use is part of complex, or troubling behaviour unusual behaviour for that age group in relation to their substance use. John Mosley. Visit www.drugsandstuff.co.uk Assessment Process Flowchart Assessment Process (Including identification of substance related needs No Further Action Review of young person’s needs Advice and Information Immediate Action needed Tier 2 Intervention Referral to tiers 3/4 Plan to meet young person’s needs John Mosley. Visit www.drugsandstuff.co.uk Other interventions to meet non-substance needs DrugScope / Home Office (2003: 26) Process for identifying young people’s substance related needs Step 1 When you should screen for substance use When a young person seeks advice/information about drugs, alcohol or solvents Step 2 Following identification or suspicion or drug taking When a drug related incident occurs When a vulnerable young person comes into contact with your service e.g. Young: Homeless Looked After Carers Offenders Excluded Confidentiality Practitioners are advised to explain their service’s confidentiality policy. Explain the consequences of identifying substance related needs, including information about what you as a practitioner can provide and information on any agency you refer them to. Step 3 What should the process establish? Knowledge of drugs, alcohol and solvents Step 4 No further action If they take drugs, alcohol or solvents If they misuse drugs, alcohol or solvents If the young person is in immediate danger If substance use is part of troubling behaviour Unusual behaviour for that age group in relation to their substance use Referral to meet a tier 3 need - complex treatment, e.g. prescribing and/or complimentary therapy If there is a child protection concern, refer to social services Outcomes of identifying substance related needs Provision of drug and alcohol education in a universal setting Targeted information and advice Referral to meet a tier 2 need - ‘counselling’ or a drug related prevention programme CAGE Test to screen for potential alcohol problem Have you ever: Cut back or Changed your drinking pattern? felt Annoyed of people criticised your drinking? felt Guilty about drinking? Needed a drink Early in the day to steady yourself (Eye opener)? 2 out of 4 yes answers is a positive screen Mayfield et al. (1974). The CAGE questionnaire: validation of a new alcoholism screening instrument. American Journal of Psychiatry. 131: 1121 - 1123. John Mosley. Visit www.drugsandstuff.co.uk