DRUGS, ALCOHOL FUEL CHILD ABUSE

NEW YORK, A study from Columbia University finds the
number of abused and neglected children in the United States has
doubled over the past ten years, fueled by drug and alcohol abuse.

The report, released by former Secretary of Health, Education and
Welfare Joseph Califano, concludes parental drug and alcohol abuse and
addiction has thrown the child welfare system into a state of
``chaos, collapse and calamity, leaving behind a wreckage of millions
of children.''

The report finds the number of abused and neglected children has
leaped from 1.4 million in 1986 to 3 million in 1997 - a rise more
than eight times greater than the increase in children's population.

A survey of 915 child welfare professionals from around the country
finds 80 percent say substance abuse causes or fuels most cases of
child maltreatment, and 40 percent say it is involved in more than 3
out of 4 cases. Seventy percent cite substance abuse as one of the
three top reasons for the leap in child maltreatment cases, and 90
percent say alcohol alone or in combination with other drugs is the
main substance of abuse.

The report finds many children who survive abuse or neglect are angry,
antisocial, physically aggressive and event violent.

It concludes: ``There is no safe haven for these abused and neglected
children of drug- and alcohol-abusing parents. They are the most
vulnerable and endangered individuals in America.''

The report calls for more funding substance for abuse treatment and
health care.

State programs in New Jersey and Connecticut and reforms in family and
parent drug courts in Reno, Nevada; Pensacola, Florida; and Suffolk
County, New York are praised for their innovations in dealing with
addiction and abuse.

The 167-page study by the National Center on Addiction and Substance
Abuse at Columbia University includes the survey, a review of 800
professional articles, books and reports, six case studies of
innovations in the field and interviews with judges and child welfare
workers.