Background: Experts say bad situations can often be improved with treatment.
Both mental health and drug addiction crises are roiling the nation, and the effects of parental drug use and mental illness can quickly spill over to children. Public health experts say substance use disorders can incapacitate previously hard-working parents and lead to the involvement of child protective services.
In 2021 alone, more than 7 million children were reported to authorities due to fears of abuse, and more than 200,000 children were removed from their homes, according to a federal report. However, research shows that parents are much less likely to experience family separation if they seek treatment for a mental or substance use disorder.
Numbers: What researchers have discovered.
To calculate treatment rates for parents of Medicaid, a health insurance program for low-income people, RTI health economist Tami Mark, who led the study, and her colleagues used a new We used a dataset published in . Numbers to link child welfare records in Florida and Kentucky with corresponding Medicaid claims records for 2020.
For comparison, we also analyzed a random sample of Medicaid recipients without records in the child welfare system. (The study did not record counseling or medication received outside the Medicaid system, or cases of undiagnosed mental health or substance use disorders.)
Of the 58,551 parents whose children were referred to welfare services, more than half had a psychiatric or drug use diagnosis, compared with 33% in the comparison group. Approximately 38 percent of people with mental disorders and 40 percent of people with substance use disorders who were referred received counseling. About 67 percent of people with mental disorders and 38 percent of people with substance use disorders were taking medication.
Norma Koh, an associate professor of medical ethics and policy at the University of Pennsylvania who was not involved in the study, said some uptake rates are worse than those for general Medicaid treatment, and some barriers are unique to parents. He said he suggested that it could be from.
“In general, the United States provides less support for parents and caregivers than many other countries,” Dr. Coe said, “which has many lasting intergenerational effects on health and wealth.” Stated.
What happens next: Examine the barrier.
The study authors highlighted a variety of barriers to accessing counseling and medication, including stigma, inconvenience, and fear of losing parental rights.
They called for improved coordination between social programs, including integrating child welfare and Medicaid data systems to clarify when parents need to be connected to specific services.
But Dr. Stephen Wolf, a professor of family medicine and population health at Virginia Commonwealth University who studies inequality, said there’s another challenge. There is a shortage of providers who accept patients on Medicaid, which pays lower reimbursement rates than private insurance companies.
“Access to behavioral health services is inadequate in the United States, but it’s even worse for Medicaid recipients,” he said.
