Social Workers Agency

Part 1

1. Is it possible for a parent to use/abuse alcohol and/or other drugs and meet their childs needs? Why or why not?

When a parent begins abusing alcohol or other drugs, they will spend most of their money buying alcohol or drugs, and they will not manage to provide for their childs need. Alcohol and drugs affect their thinking, making it hard to recognize and meet their childs needs. The parent will have a chaotic and unpredictable lifestyle where they are sober and aware of what they need to do for their child, and the next minute after taking alcohol or drugs, they lose focus and awareness. While the parent might be willing to provide, their priority changes, and they prefer to meet their alcohol or drug need first. The result is the child is neglected and cannot receive their needs from the parent. Alcohol and drugs affect a persons mind, making it hard to coordinate and focus or recall certain things. Therefore, the parent will assume they provided for their child when recovering from their alcohol-induced state. Assuming they did what was needed, they can continue drinking or taking drugs, feeling they have met all their requirements.

The parents money is spent mainly on alcohol or drugs since they cannot function without them. The parent is left without money to provide for the child and family. The impairment of cognitive function by alcohol or drugs makes the parent neglect their responsibilities because they cannot think or recall what they need to do. The result is that the parent might lose their job for failure to attend work, meaning there are even fewer funds available to meet the childs needs. Nursing hangovers after a drinking spree leads to considerable downtime where the parent cannot function properly and leads to unhealthy habits like oversleeping. To recover from the hangover, most people prefer to consume their drug of choice, making them high again. Therefore, the parent will forever be high, and they cannot function when in this state.

2. How do you know when alcohol or other drug use interferes with a parents ability to meet his/her childs safety and well-being needs? What should happen in these cases?

When one notices the parent looks drunk or unaware of their surroundings, they abuse either alcohol or drugs. However, this does not mean they are not meeting their parental duties to provide for their child. The best way to determine if a parent provides and meets their childs needs is by asking the child or noticing the child looks hungry, malnourished, or sick. If the child is old enough to talk, one can ask them when they last had a meal and who offered them...…will begin avoiding you due to your behaviors and misuse of drugs. With time the addict finds themselves without friends, and the only people associating with them are fellow addicts (OShay-Wallace, 2019). Substance use will lead to depletion of funds, and one might become homeless since they cannot afford to pay rent. Without money, the substance user will result in criminal behavior like stealing or snatching things from others. Criminal behavior leads to further deterioration of social circles because no one wants to be around thieves or call them friends (OShay-Wallace, 2019).

The family faces stigmatization consequences because others look at them differently. If the substance user was the sole provider, the family suffers since they cannot afford rent, buy food, or pay utility bills. Neighbors and friends shun them as they do not want to associate with poor people. With a family member with substance abuse disorder and limited sources finances, they might begin stealing from neighbors. The neighbors will look at the family differently and force them to pay for stolen things. Family members develop low self-esteem since they are no longer valued in the community (OShay-Wallace, 2019). Name-calling might accompany the family member, which further lowers their self-esteem. Social neglect follows as others do not want to associate with people who have a substance abuse family member. The familys reputation is damaged, lowering its confidence in other…