And why is that?
And can you please share your source for this being the reason? TIA
Parental substance abuse the main reason kids end up in foster care
Arizona Daily Star Dec 9, 2013
http://tucson.com/news/local/parent...cle_9add334f-8496-5ada-a4bf-35aabeda024f.html
While strung out on heroin, Anne Bissell spent hours, sometimes days, passed out in the bathroom or bedroom.
What her young son did during those times, she has no idea.
“I’m assuming he would eat at his friend’s house or he would come in and get stuff out of the refrigerator, but I wasn’t there to prepare his meals,” Bissell says. “I wasn’t there to make sure he wasn’t getting hit by a car. I wasn’t there to make sure he’s brushing his teeth and helping him get dressed in the morning. I wasn’t there for any of that stuff.”
Drugs and alcohol are a huge factor in Arizona’s spike in kids being placed in foster care.
Of the 10,141 children removed from their homes statewide in fiscal year 2012, at least 59 percent were removed because drugs or alcohol use were contributing factors to maltreatment, Department of Economic Security figures show.
“There’s more of a focus on keeping track of parents with babies that are born with substance abuse,” Ludwig says. “More immediate action is being taken.”
In October alone in Pima County, 22 babies under 3 months old were removed from their birth families, and 20 of those cases involved allegations of parental substance abuse, Pima County Juvenile Court records show.
At the University of Arizona Medical Center, chief of neonatalogy Dr. Alan Bedrick says about two babies a week enter CPS custody after testing positive for illicit drugs. That’s about a 50 percent increase over six years ago, he says.
https://www.parents.com/advice/preg...t-happens-if-you-take-drugs-during-pregnancy/
A: Drugs, or controlled substances of any kind including alcohol and cigarrettes, are NOT recommended in pregnancy at any gestational age.
Drug that are consumed at ANY month in pregnancy can cause severe and irreversible organ damage in the developing fetus, the most critical organ being the brain. Your friend is not only risking the health of her child for the rest of that child's life, but she is potentially putting her opportunity to raise that child herself in jeopardy.
If any woman tests positive on a drug screen at any time during the pregnancy, then Child Protective Services (CPS) can, and usually does, become involved. CPS may just require home visits after the birth to ensure that the child is being cared for and not placed in any undue danger from drug use and/or negligence in the home; however, in some cases, usually if the child begins to show signs of drug withdrawal after birth, CPS may require that the child go home with another more responsible family member or foster parent, and your friend will have to go through all the necessary legal channels to get her child back.
You should encourage your friend to get help with a drug treatment program immediately.