Training Mothers Recovering from Substance Abuse to Identify and Treat Their Children’s Illnesses

Parents who abuse drugs and alcohol are at increased risk of child maltreatment, including the neglect of their children’s health. The present research investigates the effectiveness of the SafeCare® Health module in training mothers with a history of substance abuse living in a residential treatment facility to correctly identify and treat their children’s illnesses. Three mothers of children ages 5-years-old and younger participated in the study. Using a multiple-baseline, single-case experimental design, the research team examined the participants’ ability to select the most appropriate course of action for addressing their children’s illnesses. Results indicate that parents’ skills increased steadily during the intervention, with two of the three participating parents demonstrating mastery of the skills presented. The results suggest that this intervention has great potential to be feasible and effective with this population in this setting. Future research should further investigate the relevance of this intervention with vulnerable populations living in a residential setting to examine whether the changes in targeted parenting skills result in changes in behavior that impact child maltreatment incidence reductions