Substance misuse by birth parents: Outcomes for children and young people placed into out-of-home-care.

Background: There is inconsistent evidence regarding the effect of birth parent substance use on developmental outcomes for children placed into out-of-home-care (OOHC).

Objective: This study aims to examine how parental substance use affects outcomes of Australian children in out-of-home care, adjusting for key demographic, social and system factors.

Participants And Setting: Four waves of survey data were collected for children and young people who agreed to participate in the Pathways of Care Longitudinal Study (POCLS) between 2011 and 2018. The study sample included 1,506 children and young people (792 with a history of parental substance misuse) aged 9 months to 17 years who participated in at least one wave of the POCLS and had linked administrative data from the Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ), NSW, Australia.

Methods: Multilevel longitudinal models were used to analyse the relationship of child developmental outcomes (physical health, socio-emotional wellbeing, and verbal and non-verbal cognitive ability) with parental substance misuse in their child protection history. Each model included adjustments for child demographics, family socio-economic status, child protection system factors and the unbalanced panel.

Results: Children in OOHC with a history of parental substance misuse were more likely to be in the typical range for verbal cognitive development compared to those in OOHC without this history. In addition, younger (9 months to 5 years) children with a record of parental substance misuse exhibited significantly more typical fine and gross motor skill development than those without this history.

Conclusions: Concerns that children in OOHC with a history of parental substance misuse may be more affected with regards to early-stage physical development, and later verbal cognitive development than those without this history in OOHC, may not be justified.