Thirty-two percent of children entering foster care in 2015 were placed because of parental drug abuse, and states around the country have seen the number of children in foster care rise in ways they haven't seen since crack because of the new drug problem in our country today - opioids.
On June 20, the House of Representatives passed a bill that would change the way we deal with drug addiction treatment and recovery. If passed in the Senate, the law would make it easier to keep parent and child together when a parent resides in a drug treatment program.
The bill would allow states to receive a full federal match for the child's living costs. Right now, states only receive a match of federal funding when a child is placed in foster care during a parent's treatment.
This legislation would tell parents, "As long as you're trying to get on the right path, you don't have to be concerned about your child being removed."
Keeping the family together during treatment helps children as well. Some children feel that their parent's addiction is their fault. Some children feel that getting high all the time is a normal way of life. Everyone in the family needs help understanding why substance abuse is in their lives and how they can recover.
To read more of Robbyne Wiley's article, please click here.
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