Link – One in three children entered foster care in 2017 because of parental drug abuse

As I’ve been writing recently, when childhood trauma goes untreated, or not prevented in the first place, it can often lead to problems with addiction in adulthood, as well as many other things. (Not in everyone, but it is a significant factor statistically)

Now we see that not doing anything about that childhood trauma, is creating more childhood trauma for the next generation.

In federal fiscal year (FY) 2017, the rate of children entering foster care due to parental drug abuse rose for the sixth consecutive year to 131 per 100,000 children nationally—a 5 percent increase from the previous fiscal year and a 53 percent increase since FY 2007. Of the 268,212 children under age 18 removed from their families in FY 2017, 96,400 (36 percent) had parental drug abuse listed as a reason for their removal.

It will continue from generation to generation if we don’t start dedicating resources to treatment and prevention of childhood trauma. That means money for programs and education, it means research to find better treatment options for mental health and addiction, and it means a better foster care system that is less traumatic.

None of these is easy, but we see the problem. We see the damage. To stand by and not make efforts to fix this helps no one.

One in three children entered foster care in 2017 because of parental drug abuse