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BJSW Advance Access published online on December 20, 2006
British Journal of Social Work, doi:10.1093/bjsw/bcl374
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© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The British Association of Social Workers. All rights reserved

Article

Parental Alcohol Misuse in Complex Families: The Implications for Engagement

Andy Taylor 1 *, Paul Toner 2, Lorna Templeton 3, and Richard Velleman 4

1 Faculty of Health and Social Care, School of Social Work and Primary Care, University of Plymouth, St Luke’s Campus, Heavitree Road, Exeter, Devon, EX1 2LU
2 Paul Toner is a Ph.D. Researcher based at the Mental Health Research and Development Unit (MHRDU), a joint unit of the Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust and the University of Bath. Recent research includes an evaluation of the Family Alcohol Service (FAS), a review of the Bristol Maternity Drug Service and ESRC-funded work on developing a social support measure for the family members of problem alcohol and/or drug users
3 Lorna Templeton has worked for the MHRDU for nearly ten years. She is now Deputy Manager, with specific responsibility for the Alcohol, Drugs and the Family Research Programme. Lorna has conducted a range of research and development projects in this area and widely publishes and presents her work
4 Professor of Mental Health Research at the University of Bath, and Director of the MHRDU

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Andy Taylor, E-mail: andy.taylor{at}plymouth.ac.uk


  Abstract

The impact of chronic parental alcohol misuse on both parenting and child welfare is being increasingly recognized, with such problems featuring in a significant proportion of families in which there are identified child-care concerns. There is a growing body of research which suggests that there are often particular difficulties in gaining access to such families, with effective engagement seen as central to appropriate intervention and to assessing children’s welfare in these situations. Establishing and sustaining engagement may be particularly problematic where these families experience a constellation of impacting pressures, of which alcohol and/or drug misuse is a central component. This article explores some of the challenges of reaching children and parents in such circumstances. Based on research that included a wider evaluation of a specialist service for children and families in which alcohol is a problem, a sample of families who ‘dropped out’ of contact are presented and discussed. The authors suggest that particular responses to engaging such families are needed and identify the challenges in gaining access to children in such circumstances.

Keywords: parental alcohol misuse, child welfare, engagement, multi-problem families.
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