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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Kazi A. Ahmed, PhD and Pamela Muthuuri, MPH. JBS International, Inc., 8630 Fenton Street, 12th Floor, Silver Spring, MD 20910, 240-645-4522, kahmed@jbs.biz

Using treatment data, the study describes the socio-demographic profile and types of drugs used by parents whose parental rights were terminated. Methods: The study outlines the socio-demographic profile and describes the choice of drugs of the target population. Current data comes from a national study called TOPPS II, funded by SAMHSA, US DHHS. It includes sample data from 17,135 parents receiving substance abuse treatment in 16 TOPPS II participating States. Results: Preliminary results show more than 2% of the sample parents lost parental rights to their children. They were mostly females (75%); average age 33 years; 51% with less than high school education; 67% unemployed; and 80% non-hispanic whites, African American, Asians, and American Indians. 40% were arrested at least once in the past 6 months prior to treatment, and 37% were living as homeless or in some dependent living arrangement. The drugs of choice among this target population are as follows: methamphetamine (27%), cocaine/crack (23%), alcohol (20%), heroin (16%), and marijuana (10%). The average age at first use of primary drug was 21. Conclusion: Results from this study will have implications for treatment providers as well as public health policy makers at local, state, and federal levels as they think about fair and equitable allocation of limited resources and develop and reform new treatment programs.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant will be able to

• Identify the issues of substance abusing parents who risk losing parental rights to their children.
• Describe the socio-demographic background of parents who are at risk of losing parental rights to their children.
• Describe the substance abusing behavior of parents at risk of losing their children.

Keywords: Substance Abuse Treatment, Children

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered