Methamphetamine-Involved Parents in the Child Welfare System: Are They More Challenging Than Other Substance-Involved Parents?

Although methamphetamine use has been declining, it continues to be problematic among parents in the child welfare system. We examined the assertion that parental methamphetamine use is more detrimental for children than abuse of other substances. Using administrative data (N = 2,465) from a treatment program, we compared parents reporting abuse of methamphetamine (48%) with parents reporting alcohol only (11%) or abuse of other illegal drugs (41%) on a number of variables. Methamphetamine users were more likely to be female, White, have less education, be unemployed, and not be in a committed relationship, and their children were significantly more likely to be placed.