Methamphetamine not only destroys the lives of those who become addicted to it, but affects all corners of society, including innocent children. This important book follows the case of rural Illinois, where in the mid-1990s methamphetamine production and misuse became a significant problem and, as a result, child welfare professionals saw an influx onto their caseloads of children whose parents were involved with the drug. The authors' account of the problems the children face, and of the efforts to help them, sheds useful light on possibilities for many other situations.
Applying a case-based, mixed-methods approach that capitalizes on rich qualitative data, the book examines parental methamphetamine misuse from a sociocultural perspective. Using extensive child welfare investigation data, participant observation, and in-depth interviews, the authors describe the perilous home lives of rural children whose parents misuse methamphetamine, where they are exposed to maltreatment, criminal behavior, and environmental danger. Many children end up with significant emotional and behavioral problems, especially posttraumatic symptoms, that will stay with them for years. Based on this descriptive information and the existing clinical literature, the authors designed a relationship- and narrative-based mental health program, "Life Story Intervention," that draws on rural communities' strengths, such as their storytelling traditions. Pilot data from the program, shared here, suggests some positive results of the intervention on children's psychological functioning.
Eradication of the problems caused by methamphetamine abuse will require years more of concerted effort and collaboration such as that described in this book. Social work and child welfare professors and students, researchers, practitioners, and policy-makers will find inspiration in this account of the success that can result, with this issue and others, when practitioners and researchers join forces to understand complex social phenomena and design, implement, and assess effective interventions.

This book guides professionals through the process of evaluating whether a mother with a major mental illness is at risk for maltreating her child.Children of parents with a major mental illness are at a high risk for both emotional disorders and developmental delays. However, attachment theory holds that the bonds of love between parent and child are among the most powerful indicators of future emotional health. Assessing when a parent poses a significant risk to her children is fraught with problems: there are few instruments that look at psychological functioning as it relates to parenting skills, the observation of a parent in multiple contexts is extremely difficult, there are differences in childrearing practices across cultures, and many instruments tend to focus on parenting deficits rather than strengths, just to name a few.This book provides a comprehensive overview about how to evaluate whether a mother with a mental illness is able to safely care for her children. The book synthesizes the research about psychiatric disorders and parenting and outlines eight principles for sound assessment methodology. It provides a step-by-step description of a parenting evaluation, including assessment of the parent's capabilities, the examination of the child's needs, and consideration of the social factors in the relationship. The book also includes numerous clinical vignettes drawn from the author's experiences.