04/01/2026
For families experiencing parental substance use, prevention can look different. A 2025 study published in JAMA Pediatrics found that nearly 19 million U.S. children — 1 in 4 — live with a parent with a substance use disorder.1 For those families, prevention often means timely access to treatment and systems that work together supporting recovery, promoting safety, and keeping families safely together.
While not all of those children will come to the attention of child welfare, parental substance use is the leading driver of child welfare involvement for infants and toddlers.2 Families often encounter fragmented systems, leaving them to navigate child welfare, treatment, and the courts largely on their own. When those systems work together, families can experience better outcomes.
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