Drug information charity DrugScope has responded with concern to a report issued today by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) on the Governments progress in improving care for the children of drug-misusing parents.
In 2003 the ACMD published Hidden Harm - responding to the needs of children of problem drug users (1). The result of a three-year inquiry, the report revealed a disturbing picture about the actual and potential harm to babies and children born to drug-misusing parents and the poor UK response to this problem, which affects between 250,000 and 350,000 children in the UK. Todays ACMD report assesses the progress three years on from Hidden Harm and asks how many of the original recommendations have been adopted into working practice and policy.
The assessment concludes that recommendations made by the original report have not been implemented consistently across the UK. The response in England comes under particular scrutiny.
Martin Barnes, chief executive of DrugScope, said today:
"While the issue of parental substance misuse is higher up the agenda than it was three years ago, todays report highlights worrying gaps and inconsistencies, with particular criticism levelled at progress in England.
"Time and again the report highlights shortcomings in England, while welcoming the significant progress achieved by Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The original report was a wake up call for the government - yet it took two years to publish its response. This issue, affecting up to a third of a million children in the UK, must be prioritised across all relevant government departments, requiring clear leadership and direction.
"Many drug and alcohol treatment services for adults are not sufficiently geared to identify and respond to the needs of the children of problem drug users. It speaks volumes that knowledge of parental substance misuse is still not a compulsory training requirement for social workers, many of whom are working on the frontline of this issue each and every day. And in England it seems that the Drug Strategy, with its focus on drug-related crime, has led to a failure to respond effectively to the needs of these children."
DrugScope is calling on the government to deliver:
- a national training strategy in England for social workers and other professionals who play a key role in supporting families with children, reflecting work already undertaken in the other nations;
- the introduction of multi-disciplinary protocols in every local authority in England, similar to those implemented in Scotland;
- an explicit commitment to promote the welfare of children of problem substance users across all of the national drug and alcohol strategies and in this summers Comprehensive Spending Review.
ENDS
Notes for editors
DrugScope is the UKs leading centre of expertise on drugs. Our aim is to inform policy and reduce drug-related risk. We provide quality information, promote effective responses to drug taking, undertake research at local, national and international level, advise on policy-making, encourage informed debate and speak for our member bodies working on the ground.
Contact the press office on 07736 895563
(1) The original Hidden Harm report, and the UK Government and Scottish Executive responses to it, can be found online at: www.drugs.gov.uk
(2) The key messages from Hidden Harm (June 2003) were as follows:
- Estimates suggest that there are 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.
Posted: 9th February 2007
For more information please contact Ruth Goldsmith in the DrugScope Press Office on 020 7940 7517 (07736 895563 out of hours) or at press@drugscope.org.uk
