Transcript Families
Vivienne Evans September 2013 http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/01/12/artic le-0-0F6A8D0600000578724_468x320.jpg The numbers •Nearly 1.5 million adults will be significantly affected by a relative’s drug use •The cost of harms they experience as a result amounts to about 1.8 billion per year •The support they provide would cost the NHS and local authorities about 750 million to provide if it were not available The numbers 61,000 children in care in UK Up to 350,000 children affected by parental drug use Up to 1.3 million affected by parental alcohol use In 2007, local authorities spent £117 million dealing with families where substance misuse is a problem Substance misuse linked to DV, mental health, poverty ...... THE POLICY DRIVERS Families affected by addiction problems are important for four significant and related reasons: Involvement of family members in the treatment of their relatives with addiction problems can enhance positive outcomes Family members in these circumstances show symptoms of stress that merit help in their own right Effective treatment of the parent can have positive benefits for the child Better outcomes for children are achieved if they remain with their families Why support families? They provide practical, emotional and financial support to the substance user, improving the likelihood of recovery Health and welfare of family members is improved if they are given support Engaging families in a prison setting can reduce drug supply and re-offending Isolation and stigma increases stress and its related problems, placing added strain on statutory services Economic advantages Why not????? Why families? Rebuilding family relationships is a key constituent of recovery Families provide vital recovery capital Families are well placed to help map individualised routes away from drug dependency Families need to recover too Case studies The family has been torn apart in many ways, and my grandchild has faced stigma at school We’ve had to deal with drug dealers demanding money and had to pay back thousands of pounds in drug debts for our son… My daughters were scared of their drug using brother….the emotional stress meant they missed school… We didn’t have any routines .. Everything revolved around the drugs. There wasn’t much food about…. Bread and not much else Impact Social Financial Physical Psychological Criminality Stigma Personal and societal What does family support mean? Policies and guidance : Drugs Families Children Systems: Strategic and operational partnerships Interventions and services Culture and language Six key messages of the original Hidden Harm inquiry Estimated 250,000/350,000 children of problem drug users in the UK Parental drug use causes serious harm to children at every age from conception to adulthood Reducing the harm to children 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 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 Key challenges/opportunities How to deliver at a time of austerity Outcomes Localism Public Health Workforce Recovery Troubled families . Has anything changed? www.adfam.org.uk