Child Welfare 2001 Mar-Apr;80(2):199-220. Treating substance-using women and their children in public housing: preliminary evaluation findings. Metsch LR, Wolfe HP, Fewell R, McCoy CB, Elwood WN, Wohler-Torres B, Petersen-Baston P, Haskins HV. Comprehensive Drug Research Center, University of Miami School of Medicine, Florida, USA.
The Key West Housing Authority created SafePort, a residential substance abuse treatment program within public housing to provide drug treatment to parenting women. All family members-women, children, and significant others-receive comprehensive assessments to determine appropriate therapeutic interventions to resolve their problems. Preliminary evaluation findings suggest that women who participate with their children are more likely to remain drug free than are those who participated without their children.
J Subst Abuse Treat 2001 Sep;21(2):67-75. A comprehensive substance abuse treatment program for women and their children: an initial evaluation. Conners NA, Bradley RH, Whiteside-Mansell L, Crone CC. Arkansas CARES, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA. connersnicolaa@uams.edu.
This article examines a comprehensive, residential substance abuse treatment program for women and their children. A majority of the 72 participants studied were African American single mothers, for whom crack/cocaine was the drug of choice. The women and their children were assessed repeatedly during treatment, and at 3, 6, and 12 months postdischarge. Program impact was estimated by comparing the outcomes of three groups that differed in the amount of treatment they received: early dropouts, late dropouts, and treatment graduates. Program graduates showed more positive outcomes than the nongraduate comparison groups in the areas of drug use and negative consequences of use, employment and self-sufficiency, and family interaction skills. Young children enrolled in treatment with their mothers were assessed using a developmental screening test, and older children with a measure of drug refusal skills. Results from both child measures suggest substantial improvement.
