Children s Services
Practice A/0
/К
II
For North Carol ina's Child Welfare Workers
From the NC Division of Social Services and the Family and Children's Resource Program
NEGLECT: SEARCHING FOR INTERVENTIONS
Winter 1996, Volume 2, Number 1
Children's Services Practice Notes is a news¬
letter for North Carolina's child welfare work¬
ers produced four times a year by the North
Carolina Division of Social Services and the
Family and Children's Resource Program, part
of the School of Social Work at the University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
In summarizing recent research, we fry to give
you new ideas for refining your practice. How¬
ever, this publication is not intended to replace
regular supervision and peer consultation-
only to enhance them.
Let us hear from you!
If you would like to comment about something
that appears in this or any other issue of
Children's Services Practice Notes, please do
so! Address your comments to:
Child neglect is a serious problem—
nationally, neglect occurs 50 percent
more frequently than abuse, according
to the latest figures from the National
Center on Child Abuse and Neglect.
Neglect can be just as deadly as
abuse. While the American Humane As¬
sociation found 44.3 percent of mal¬
treatment fatalities involved neglect,
others have found that more children
die from neglect than from abuse
(Brown, 1987).
In North Carolina, the percentage of
children reported as neglected has re¬
mained at about 80 percent of all refer¬
rals for the last five years. Of these ne¬
glect referrals, about 90 percent have
been substantiated (NCDSS, 1996).
This issue of Practice Notes looks
at the factors that contribute to ne¬
glect and provides some insights into
effective interventions for this problem.
References
American Himaie Association (1 9881. Highlights of official chid abuse
and neglect reporting: 1386. Denver.
Brown, L. (19871. Seeking a national consensus. Public Welfare,
4511), 12-17.
National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect.
1Ш&).
Study findings:
Study of incidence and prevalence of child abuse and neglect:
1988. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services.
CRACK COCAINE AND NEGLECT
John McMahon
UNC-CH School of Social Work
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3550
State Courier Number: 14-24-11
Tel: (919) 962-6484. Fax: (919) 962-3653.
E-mail: jdmcmaho@email.unc.edu
Newsletter staff
Joanne Caye, MSW, Advisor
Lane Cooke, MSW, Advisor
Robert Leibson Hawkins, MPA, Writer
John McMahon, MA, Editor
Karen Randolph, MSW, Writer
Experienced and new social workers
alike understand the negative effects
crack cocaine has on the families of
those who use it. Many have seen the
desire for this drug grow so powerful
that parents think of nothing else, fail¬
ing to attend to even the basic needs
of their children.
And yet what do we really know
about the relationship between neglect
and parental addiction to crack? More
importantly, what interventions are ef¬
fective for helping crack-addicted par¬
ents and their families?
CRACK
Crack is a form of cocaine that pro¬
vides an intense, short-lived euphoria,
or high. This initial high is quickly fol¬
lowed by a "crash" that involves anxi¬
ety, depression, irritability, extreme fa¬
tigue, paranoia, and a
craving for another
high (Pearce, 1997).
Although studies
show that cocaine and
its derivatives are not
physically addictive,
prolonged exposure to
the drug does create
a psychological depen¬
dence, especially for Research paints a
intravenous users grim picture for the
(Nicholi, 1983). Cra- children of crack-
vings become so addicted parents,
strong they seriously disrupt normal
daily living behavior for extended pe¬
riods of time. In time, the desire for
crack can supersede an addict's con¬
cern about the care and safety of his or
her children (Farrar & Kearns, 1989).
continued on page 2