Parental Substance Misuse and Child Welfare

This individual study resource should be of interest to staff and managers who deal with child welfare and with the causes and impact of drug and alcohol problems of parents. The material is laid out in three main sections: the dynamics of substance misuse, including the role of parenting, and the effect of misuse on parenting; the effects of parental substance misuse on children, including key issues such as risk and resilience; the obstacles to effective joint working across children’s and adult’s teams, and the practical ways of overcoming them, including holistic assessments. This is a fairly dense text, which provides the reader with much authoritative information. But it also includes a useful amount of practical advice. – Care and Health Magazine

Brynna Kroll is a Lecturer in Social Work at the University of Exeter. A former probation officer, guardian ad litem and family court welfare officer, she has published widely in the areas of working with children, family court welfare practice and youth justice.

Andy Taylor is a Lecturer in Social Work at the University of Exeter and is on the Board of Directors of Insight, Drug and Alcohol, Exeter. He has published in the areas of anti-discriminatory practice and social work competence.