Substance-abusing mothers in the child welfare system

Federal demonstration programs funded by the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) have been aimed at preventing and/or treating alcohol, tobacco, and other drug (ATOD) use in pregnant women and women of childbearing age. The programs described in this article support women's development in various adult roles, one of which is childbearing. The ability of women to bear children is often one way in which ATOD-using women develop a connection to mainstream society and exert some control over their lives. That is, childbearing often serves to define a woman's role in a world that is otherwise disempowering. As one woman who had borne eight children by age 26 said: "As long as you take my babies away, I will keep having them."