The death of a parent is typically a heartbreaking and confusing experience for adults. It is even worse for children, leading to frustration and feelings of abandonment that sometimes lead to self-destructive behaviors, such as drug use, that can continue into adulthood. The effects are particularly severe for black children, who are more likely to end up in the child welfare system.
Recent report This study by federal researchers presents the most complete picture yet of the widespread impact of drug overdose deaths on Black children in Los Angeles and other cities, and what we can do about it.
From 2011 to 2021More than 321,000 American children have lost a parent to drug overdose, according to the report. Black children experienced the largest increase. During those years the rate of such losses increased compoundingly, A long-standing public health crisis across Black AmericaLike much of the U.S., Los Angeles has seen a surge in drug overdoses in recent years. Disproportionate losses among the city’s black adults.
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Black people are significantly more likely to experience drug-related deaths This is because they have limited access to treatment and resources, such as naloxone, which can reverse an overdose. For parents, the impact on their children is rapid and severe. Parental drug use is highly correlated with children’s drug use.
Black children make up just 7.4% of the population of Los Angeles County.they represented twenty four% Of those who entered the child welfare system in the past year. A study About 47% of black children in California are under investigation for abuse and drug use by age 18. 41% of state child abuse cases.
The disproportionate number of black children in Los Angeles’ child welfare system has been under scrutiny since the late 1980s, when the city’s heroin and crack epidemics reached their peak. At the time, drugs were primarily addressed as a criminal problem through heavy-handed policing and prosecution, driving many young and middle-aged black Angelenos, both drug users and dealers, to premature death and incarceration. Many of their children ended up in the city’s fragmented child welfare system, and too often followed the same path to addiction and entanglement with the justice system.
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When a child’s parent dies, other family members such as the child’s other parent, grandparents, or aunts and uncles are often the first line of response to assume responsibility for the child’s care, but black children, especially in low-income areas, often end up turning to the child welfare system instead.
Why? The child’s surviving family members may not have the resources to fill the gap. But racial bias also makes child welfare workers more likely to separate black children from their families and hinder reunification efforts.
The research has consistently Child welfare workers are more likely to define black parents’ behavior as abusive or neglectful Child welfare workers also Black families are more likely to feel less attached to their children and view them as hopeless.
Children who enter the child welfare system due to the death of a parent are already Stay in the system for twice as longBlack children tend to remain in the system even longer because of prejudice.
The twin devastations of Los Angeles’ drug epidemic and its child welfare system are horrific, but not irreparable. A first step is to reform the city’s racially biased child removal procedures. Los Angeles officials are piloting a “blind removal” approach, in which a review is followed by a decision-making process that excludes demographic details such as the child’s race. This is a step in the right direction.
but, UCLA Study on Pilots “This program reveals that racial disparities persist and shows how deeply entrenched biases against child welfare are. For blind removals to be effective in eliminating racial disparities, they must be complemented by increased transparency and expanded scrutiny.” Civilian Review Board Implicit bias training.
Second, we need to better understand the consequences of placing black children in the child welfare system. In general, black children in the system face high levels of prejudice, especially if they come from families with a history of substance abuse. This puts them at increased risk of being sexually assaulted. Unlikely to be hiredThe trauma of losing a parent also makes them more likely to experience depression and anxiety.
These experiences often lead to social isolation, lower educational achievement, reduced employment prospects and incarceration. Authorities must identify these patterns early and provide resources, including mental health care, to try to break this harmful cycle.
Finally, policymakers should continue to consider the benefit of a guaranteed basic income to provide a cushion for personal and professional growth. Another pilot program in California is Guaranteed basic income for people aged 21 and over leaving the foster care systemStates should lower the eligibility age to 18, given the severe housing and employment challenges black young people face as soon as they reach adulthood. Stanford University researchers And other agencies have found that such policies lead to improved health, housing stability and employment prospects.
Addressing the growing drug overdose epidemic in Los Angeles’ Black communities requires paying attention not only to the direct risks to drug users but also to the childhood experiences that often drive them to drug use. One of the most powerful tools to prevent future overdoses is to better care for the children who are most directly affected by today’s losses.
Jerrell Ezell is an assistant professor of community health sciences at the University of California, Berkeley, where he studies the racial politics of drug use.
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This article originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.
