The Intersectionality of Maternal Substance Usage, Social Resource Inequities, and the Child Welfare System - (2025)

The child welfare system struggles to address the growing issue of maternal substance use, with rising rates of substance-related child removals, an overcrowded foster care system, and underfunded, non-specific social resources. Despite significant funding, systemic failures persist, and there is a lack of research on the interdependent relationships between substance-using mothers, their families, and the inequitable distribution of resources. This presentation critiques the outdated and harmful responses to maternal substance use in child welfare and emphasizes the need for evidence-based solutions and enhanced social resources. By focusing on preserving substance-affected families, it advocates for systemic reform to address chronic gaps in research, practice, and policy. Without these changes, inconsistent services and ineffective programming will continue to undermine the system's purpose.

Suggested Domain: Intervention

Credits: 1.0 PDU

Learning Objective(s):

1. Identify the reciprocally interdependent relationship between social resources and the child welfare system

2. Recognize how this relationship negatively affects contemporary child welfare practices, perpetuates the inequitable distribution of social resources, and allows for the systematic destruction of substance-affected families involuntarily involved with the      child welfare system

3. Explain why indiscriminate social resources are vital to the preservation of substance-affected families and the success of child welfare

Please note: All webinar content and its certificate will expire on 02/19/2028 regardless of when it is purchased, accessed, or completed. At that point, contents will no longer be available in any form, including as an archive or as a PDU certificate. It is the responsibility of the learner to complete the contents and download and save the certificate for their records before 02/19/2028.