Hidden Harm - Responding to the needs of children of problem drug users
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The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs has a statutory duty to advise the Government on drugs of misuse and the health and social problems these may cause. The Prevention Working Group carries out in-depth Inquiries into aspects of drug misuse that are causing particular concern, with the aim of producing reports that will be helpful to policy makers, service providers and others. Hidden Harm is the report of its findings.
Before we look at the main finding, let's look at two important points...
Child protection and substance use
"We should particularly be concerned with substance use that is dependant or chaotic. For the practitioner and the client, the ability to distinguish recreational use from problematic misuse is a crucial skill."
Murphy, M. (1996). The Child Protection Unit. p 11. Aldershot: Avebury.
Links between problematic use and child protection
"To suggest that all parents who suffer from problem drug use present a danger to their children is misleading. Indeed, much research indicated that in isolation problem drug use of a parent presents little risk of significant harm to children."
Cleaver H., Unell, I., and Aldgate, J., (1999) Children’s Needs Parenting Capacity, p.23, London; HMSO.
Six key messages from the ACMD Inquiry Hidden Harm
- Estimate of between 250,000 and 350,000 children of problem drug users in the UK – about one for every problem drug user.
- Parental problem drug use can and does cause serious harm to children at every age from conception to adulthood.
- Reducing the harm to children from parental problem drug use should become a main objective of policy and practice.
- Effective treatment of the parent can have major benefits for the child.
- By working together, services can take many practical steps to protect and improve the health and well-being of affected children.
- The number of affected children is only likely to decrease when the number of problem drug users decreases.
Hidden Harm Summary Report 
Hidden Harm Full Report
Cleaver et al. (1999 and 2010) reviewed the factors that place children at more or less vulnerable to the behaviours that result from their parents' problems.