Special Considerations Relating to Substance Abuse

Listen to audio

It is important to remember that substance use by a parent or caregiver, by itself, is not abuse or neglect. However, if an adult’s substance use endangers a child or causes the adult to hurt the child, that may be child maltreatment.

For example, if a parent overdoses on drugs and passes out while taking care of the child, this may be neglect. Or, if a child’s relative is intoxicated and gets frustrated with the child and punches him, this may be physical abuse.

In addition, there are two areas of substance use-related child maltreatment specifically addressed by Wisconsin statutes that mandated reporters need to be aware of and are required to report:

Methamphetamine Manufacture

Define

Recognize

The criminal manufacture of methamphetamines is defined as child abuse when it is done under any of the following circumstances:

A child is present
It is manufactured in a child’s home, on the premises of a child’s home, or in a motor vehicle on the premises of a child’s home
It is manufactured under any other circumstances where a reasonable person should have known that the manufacture would be seen, smelled, or heard by a child

You can download a printable copy of the questions shown below. (PDF)

You have probably heard the term “meth” or “crystal meth”. Methamphetamine is a stimulant drug for the central nervous system that is legally available only through a prescription and is highly addictive. It is possible to manufacture it in illegal labs such as homes, garages or other places. Even short-term exposure to chemical vapors in these labs can cause severe health problems, particularly for children, or death. Illegal labs can explode and burn, and they produce a large amount of dangerous chemical waste which may be dumped in the yard where children play. Illegal meth labs are generally handled as a Hazardous Material (Hazmat) site.

As in physical and sexual abuse, the manufacture of methamphetamines under the above conditions could be done by any person, not just a caregiver. Also, as in neglect, the child need not have been harmed yet by exposure to the manufacturing process for it to be abuse.

Drug-Endangered Infants (for physicians only)

There is also one area relating to substance abuse where a report may need to be made –but it only applies to Mandated Reporters who are physicians.

State law permits health care professionals and social workers to refer an infant to a physician if there is a suspicion that the infant has controlled substances or controlled substance analogs in his or her bodily fluids. In these cases, if the results of the test indicate that the infant does have controlled substances or controlled substance analogs in his or her bodily fluids, the physician is required under state law to make a mandated report to CPS. This law does not require physicians to report the use of substances by a pregnant woman.

If you are a physician, please click here to learn more about this type of maltreatment.

Back

Make sure to visit all the tabs before continuing the course!