The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) published a report in January 2020 titled, "Challenges in Providing Substance Use Disorder Treatment to Child Welfare Clients in Rural Communities."
According to the new brief from HHS, parental drug use was a factor in 36 percent of cases where a child was removed from the home. The brief examines the challenges specific to rural areas such as lack of resources to parents struggling with substance use issues and provides recommended strategies specifically tailored to rural communities to increase workforce capacity, improve access to services, and coordinate efforts of child welfare agencies and treatment providers.