Parental drug use and permanency for young children in foster care: A competing risks analysis of reunification, guardianship, and adoption

Margaret H. Lloyd, Becci A. Akin, Jody Brook - Children and Youth Services Review

This study seeks to contribute to the literature on child welfare and parental drug use in the United States by answering the following research questions:

(1) Do young children (ages 0–3) with parental drug removals exit foster care to reunification at different rates as compared to older children (ages > 3) with parental drug removals and to other young children (ages 0–3) without parental drug removals?

(2) Do young children (ages 0–3) with parental drug removals exit foster care to adoption at different rates as compared to older children (ages > 3) with parental drug removals and to other young children (ages 0–3) without parental drug removals?

(3) Do young children (ages 0–3) with parental drug removals exit foster care to guardianship at different rates as compared to older children (ages > 3) with parental drug removals and to other young children (ages 0–3) without parental drug removals?