Half of children at risk have parents on drink, drugs
MORE than half of the children on the Child Protection Register in 2018 were in a situation where parental drug or alcohol use were seen as risk factors, according to the latest Bailiwick Drug and Alcohol Strategy report.
The number of children on the register rose by 44 from 2017 to 2018 to 121, with 67 having parents using drugs or drinking to dangerous levels, up from 45.
However, the overall figure of youngsters with drug/alcohol using parents was lower than the worst year on record, 2014, when there were 136 on the register with 82 (60%) having drug/alcohol-using parents.
One of the key performance indicators of BDAS is to reduce the number of adults and children using drugs and/or alcohol at levels which are damaging to themselves or others.
Linked with this it wants to see a percentage decrease over 10 years in the number of children on the register with parents using drugs or alcohol.
In that respect, the figure at 55% is 24% lower than the 2007 baseline, when there were 56 children registered. The report said that the trend since then has been generally downward in percentage terms.
As for young people’s own use/misuse of drugs and/or alcohol, Action for Children provides a service for young people under the age of 25 – the Young People’s Substance Misuse Service.
It takes referrals from various agencies as well as individuals and family.
It focuses on the post-16 years, said the BDAS report, as well as the more vulnerable groups and deals with issues around drug/alcohol use or misuse.
A total of 209 young people accessed this service in 2018, of which 101 reported drug/alcohol issues.
The majority of these (61%) were male.
Over time, the percentage of young women using drugs accessing the service has remained relatively constant, but the figure of 28% last year was the highest since 2014.
There was a rise in the number of men using drugs to 50% in 2016, but since then it has also remained relatively stable.
The report said that alcohol usage rates have fallen since 2015 and have remained stable at about 30%.
A young people’s report is published every three years by BDAS and the next one is due in 2020. This will include details of cannabis/alcohol use by 14 and 15 year olds.
. The new report, published as an appendix to the Billet d’Etat, is the first to appear after delivery of the drug and alcohol strategy moved from Public Health to the Health Improvement Commission for Guernsey and Alderney LBG.
