Children affected by parental substance misuse
Substance misuse is often long-term in nature and can lead to sustained problems of child neglect or other forms of abuse, meaning children affected by it are among the most vulnerable and require particular care and support.
Our national guidance for child protection in Scotland sets out our expectation that all services working with vulnerable children and families should have robust measures in place.
In 2013 we published Getting our priorities right: good practice guidance, for use by all agencies and practitioners working with children, young people and families affected by problematic alcohol and drug use.
Partnership Drugs Initiative (PDI)
We work in partnership with the Lloyds TSB Foundation to fund the Partnership Drugs Initiative (PDI), which helps to deliver vital support to people, including children, affected by drug and alcohol issues.
Since 2001 we have provided annual funding to PDI that has been matched by the Lloyds TSB Foundation. We have committed a further £600,000 of funding for 2017 to 2018.
The PDI currently supports 41 projects in 21 Alcohol and Drug Partnership (ADP) areas, where ADPs are responsible for developing strategies to tackle local alcohol and drug issues. From 2015 to 2016, 3,221 children, young people and families were supported, with more than 79% of them achieving at least one positive outcome.
More information on the PDI is available on the Lloyds TSB Foundation website.