We deliberately selected communities that varied in size, in different parts of the country, with varying

PARENTAL SUBSTANCE ABUSE, CHILD PROTECTION AND ASFA: IMPLICATIONS FOR POLICY MAKERS AND PRACTITIONERS Substance Abuse Policy Research Program ID# 048783 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Submitted By American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law Research by Smith Associates, Inc. Barbara E. Smith Sharon G. Elstein Eva J. Klain Contact: Sharon G. Elstein, Senior Research Associate American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law th740 15 St., N.W. Washington, D.C. 20005 Phone: 202/662-1752, FAX: 202/662-1755 E-mail: Sharon Elstein, selstein@staff.abanet.org December 2005 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Substance Abuse Policy Research Program, which enabled us to conduct this important research study. We appreciate the numerous judges, attorneys, child welfare professionals and treatment providers who gave us the benefit of their experience and expertise in our surveys, telephone dialogues, and during the site visits. We acknowledge, in particular, authorities from the five jurisdictions who allowed us access to their program staff and agency representatives: Halifax County, North Carolina, Tarrant County, Texas, Cook County, Illinois, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, and San Diego County, California. We appreciate the access provided to us by the clients and families involved in court hearings and conferences at the five ...