Effects of Opioid Treatment Programs on Child Well-Being. Issue 1 (September 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Bullinger, Lindsey Rose; Wang, Vivian; Feder, Kenneth A.
• Other Names: Darolia Rajeev guest-editor.; Heflin Colleen guest-editor.
• Is Part Of: Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. Volume 703:Issue 1(2022)
• Page Start: 79
• Page End: 105
• Publication Date: 2022-09
• Subjects: child maltreatment -- foster care -- parental opioid use disorder -- medication-assisted treatment -- opioid treatment programs; Social sciences -- Periodicals; Social sciences -- United States -- Periodicals; Political science -- Periodicals; United States -- Politics and government -- Periodicals; 300
• DOI: 10.1177/00027162221142644
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0002-7162

Abstract

Children exposed to parental opioid use disorder are at an elevated risk of maltreatment. We study whether parents' access to medication-assisted opioid treatment programs (OTPs) affects the well-being of their children. An administrative decision to lift a moratorium on access to these programs in Indiana created the opportunity for this study. We show that after a county opened an OTP, methadone dispensing increased and emergency department visits related to opioid overdose decreased there, offering evidence of the success of these programs. We also show that the opening of these OTPs did not have significant effects on reports of child maltreatment, but that out-of-home foster care placements were reduced by 22 percent. Our findings are consistent with past research showing that child welfare cases involving parental substance use tend to be complex and tend to have longer times to parent/child reunification than child welfare cases in which substance use is not present. We argue that expanding access to opioid treatment programs may help reduce foster care placements.