Let me lead off the brief discussion of this topic by reminding everyone that caffeine is a "substance." Why?... we do not have any way, yet, of knowing the extent of the "mission creep" that may eventually infect so-called "child protective" "services" (CPS) current efforts to reassess their responses to reports of parents and caregivers who may be "neglectful" or "abusive" to their charges as a result of substance "use."
Let me also draw your attention to the fact that CPS (and its derivatives and alternate acronyms) has changed from calling it "substance abuse" to "substance USE." While they will likely never admit it, the reason is clear. "Use" is much more "provable" and easily-asserted concept than "abuse"..i.e. they can catch far more otherwise/concurrently excellent parents and caregivers in their color-of-law webs using "USE" rather than "abuse" as their lead excuse.
(Image courtesy of researchgate.com.)
The CPS discussion regarding their response to this issue is ongoing, and here is just one link to a piece of that discussion:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740918310624
Of course, one major factor driving this re-assessment is the massive push towards legalization of cannabis products, of whatever form. Some of the states are already specifically exempting positive cannabis test results from certain societal proscriptions-- beyond simply the filing of criminal or civil charges. If we reach the place in society where no one can be fired for smoking pot before going to work, for example, can it not be reasonable to assume that some states will also proscribe the seizing of children from parents and caregivers by CPS simply on the basis of a positive test for cannabis use?
While I am a strong believer that CPS shouldn't even be involved in decisions regarding criminality (that's the LEO and real court system's job) I also don't think we want poorly-trained and dumbed down CPS caseworkers deciding whether children should be taken from their homes simply because of substance use. I would certainly hope that there will be a national discussion around this issue that INCLUDES strictly delineating CPS approaches to not only the variety of substances that people may use, but also the effect on the individual, quantity/quality/frequency-of-use issues, etc.
In other words, CPS probably should treat coffee drinkers and nicotine users a bit differently from crack addicts and crystal meth abusers.
Here is an excerpt from the link above:
"Common mechanisms for change across models are identified: 1) increasing caregiver reflective functioning; 2) increasing caregiver and child emotional regulation capacities and; 3) increasing the quality of parent-child relationships through strengthening caregiver responsiveness, sensitivity, and attunement."
(Image courtesy of hotelcaliforniacincinnati.com.)
While this statement is almost techno-jargon to the point of being indecipherable, a couple of things can be determined about it. "Caregiver reflective functioning" to me means, attempting to give substance users tools to be better self monitors..i.e. knowing when to say when. (FYI...they have vaccines coming for this, btw...) This is, of course, far easier said than done, but I am glad they are looking (or at least claiming they are) at methods of avoiding the ubiquitous knee-jerk reactions that have made CPS so universally detested. Getting caregivers to think more about their kids AND WILLING TO LISTEN when kids feel unsafe in their presence, would also be nice. But, many substances that are of most concern, of course, specifically reduce not only overall awareness, but also the empathy response of the user...most notably/infamously, alcohol use.
(The Skull & Bones meeting site on the campus of Yale University. Courtesy of nypost.com.)
Of the four programs that are being suggested in this article, the "Family-Based Recovery" model strikes me as the most hopeful--if not in necessarily in changing user's behaviors, at least in softening CPS's approaches. Here is that link:
Of course, anything that comes out of the sheriff-less, un-Constitution State of Connecticut, The Skull & Bones sheltering Yale University chicken-hearted VAXXINATERS, or the Rockefeller's flagship "western medicine" conveyance mechanism--Johns Hopkins-- immediately gives me the creeps, but the LANGUAGE of what they are suggesting at least sounds good.
Here is an excerpt:
"This brief description of the Family‐Based Recovery model highlights the family‐focused practice elements that allow children to remain safely at home with parents who are in treatment. Outcomes suggest that Family‐Based Recovery is a promising practice, and collaborations between child protective services and substance use treatment providers can yield positive results for families with young children."
(Image from twitter.)
If we can actually get CPS to behave less tyrannically and to actually MEET their government-mandate to put leaving children at home FIRST among their priorities, then we can hope (as the legalization movement forces societal change) that we get some good results for kids, for once. However, again, trusting CPS to do what is right just because they got some new study done, or changed some stated procedure, is most definitely a fool's errand.
For now, if you are a parent or a caregiver and use ANY substance, be careful not to ever become intoxicated (or "high") in the immediate presence of your kids, or to EVER get so impaired that you can not be safe around your kids, or responsible (and appropriately helpful) in a sudden emergency situation. AND...if you should ever slip up and go beyond that, at least be sure you don't have any CPS sympathizers nearby to witness it.
It certainly will be interesting to see how laws and mores change, as greater and greater acceptance of products like cannabis becomes codified in law. In my opinion, anything that tends towards making government (especially CPS) less tyrannical and interventionist is probably, on balance, a good thing. Pardon me, however, if I continue to doubt any rhetoric and policy statements coming out of the CPS milieu pretending to address these issues in favor of families, however. Their reputation certainly precedes them...by about 1000 light years.