Addiction and Children in Foster Care
The Opioid Epidemic is the Leading Cause of Addiction
As a result of the opioid epidemic, children are placed in foster care rapidly. When children are neglected, maltreated, and abused, they often wind up in the foster care system. Due to the circumstances in which a child enters into foster care, many suffer from various mental and emotional disorders.
Tragically, many children continue to be abused and traumatized in foster care homes. This type of trauma often lends itself to alcoholism and addiction after foster care.
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The Rising Demand for Foster Care
Foster care can be challenging for anyone to handle, especially if it is due to the death, mistreatment, or abandonment of a parent or guardian. It can be more challenging if a child has foster parents who abuse drugs or alcohol.
Children of addicted parents tend to be neglected and are more likely to have low cognitive, social, and emotional development. Children in foster care suffer from depression, anxiety, and other mental health symptoms.
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Risk Factors of Foster Care
Mentally abused children often deal with chronic flight-or-fight responses, which is a protective state out of their control. This is the only way that the brain and body can protect themselves from more trauma. Over time, this changes the way their brain can make healthy decisions. Along with stress and trauma, many causes predispose people to addiction after foster care.
- Homelessness: Many children are aging out of the foster care system. They often do not have many places to go to. Nearly 20% of youth who were in foster care will become instantly homeless upon aging out. Older youth on the street are at high risk for abusing substances. With the lack of stability and resources, these youths become easy targets for victimization.
- Lack of Education: Over half of children who age out of foster care fail to graduate. Life after foster care is difficult when you lack the skills needed to enroll in college or apply for tuition grants or education loans.
- Unemployment: After foster care, there is a high risk of unemployment. Many cannot find work because of the lack of transportation or the skills needed to keep a job.
- Teen pregnancy: 71% of young women will become pregnant while in foster care and before age 21. Teen pregnancy is a factor that prevents many young mothers from completing school. There is an additional risk to the babies born to these mothers. Statistically, the cycle of addiction, neglect, and abuse will likely continue.
- Sex Trafficking: Children in foster care are vulnerable to sex trafficking. Once in foster care, there is a 60% chance they will be victims of sex trafficking.
- Legal Problems: One-quarter of children will be involved with the justice system during and after foster care due to the underlying trauma that they experience in their life. Addiction after foster care complicates this problem even more.
The Foster Care Cycle
Just because a child goes into foster care does not mean that the abuse and neglect go away. The profound impact of an unstable childhood due to abuse and neglect is detrimental to overall growth. Growing up in the foster care system can be very traumatic. Many innocent children never know if a reunion with their biological family is possible.
The long wait for adoption is difficult. The older the child, the less likely they will be adopted. Often, siblings are separated. Another risk of foster care is having to move from foster home to foster home. They usually have multiple care workers every year. All of this is hard to overcome. Growing up stressed is tragic for children in foster care.
Long-Term Stress
Addiction after foster care is a tragic outcome for many that age out of the system. The stress and trauma from being torn from parents, family, and friends are not good for your mind, body, or spirit. Many youths turn to drugs to temporarily alleviate the stress that builds up.
Stress is a key contributor to addiction. Children who live with prolonged stress responses have fundamental changes in their brain chemistry. Therefore, addiction before and after foster care is common. Most are just finding an outlet to relieve stress, which is how the addiction pattern begins. When you are stressed, it is not easy to make healthy decisions.
Addiction After Foster Care
Many people that develop an addiction after foster care also have an underlying mental health condition. Drug addictions often start because of these hidden illnesses. The untreated disorder drives the user to continue to use to mask the real causes behind their addiction.
Every foster child deserves the opportunity to explore their talents and interests. They deserve opportunities to achieve their goals. Addiction after foster care can cut a life short without drug rehab.
Drug Rehab
When you are ready to seek appropriate treatment for your addiction after foster care, choosing a comprehensive drug rehab program is vital to sustainable recovery. With comprehensive care, your whole being is treated. Many times, addiction after foster care is a direct result of early traumas experienced.
Understanding how your life circumstances contributed to your drug addiction is a crucial step towards recovery. Addiction treatment isn’t a straight line to recovery. You will experience ups and downs. There is no right way to treat drug addiction, only one goal, recovery.
Choosing Treatment
All it takes is one call to an addiction treatment facility to understand that drug rehab can make a difference. Addiction is a chronic disorder. There, unfortunately, is no cure, but you can prevent future relapse to live a fuller and happier life. When you enter drug rehab you are exposed to a whole new world.
You are surrounded with positive support from your medical team and other recovering addicts. Resurgence Behavioral Health offers integrated substance use disorder and mental health care with dual diagnosis treatment to treat addiction after foster care. All your care is provided within our addiction treatment facility.
Resurgence Behavioral Health understands addiction after foster care. Our integrated treatment is far superior compared to separate treatment for co-occurring disorders. If you are struggling with addiction after foster care, give us a call today, and start treatment tomorrow.
Insurance Verification for Addiction Treatment
Do you want treatment but are worried about how you can pay for it? We have a team of financial professionals who provide free insurance verification. We will work with you to determine how to move forward with the treatment in a way that works for you and your financial situation.
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How to Get Help
Are you or someone you love struggling with addiction? Help is available. You are not alone in this struggle.
Call 877-321-2865 to schedule your consultation. Start your recovery journey today.
