NO - Martin Barnes, chief executive, DrugScope
The welfare of children must be paramount, but children should not automatically be taken into care simply on the basis that a parent or carer is using drugs. Instead, a number of risk factors should be monitored, including a parent's drug or alcohol use, to assess their impact on a child's welfare. In order to do this, early identification is vital.
However, too many agencies and professionals remain insufficiently equipped to spot, understand and intervene as appropriate when problem drug use occurs. While ensuring that drug use is on the radar, we need to avoid reinforcing stigma and the barriers to seeking support.
YES - Neil McKeganey, director, Centre for Drug Misuse Research, Glasgow University
For far too long services and policy have entertained the notion that children can remain under the care of drug-addicted parents and remain unharmed.
Parental drug addiction is incompatible with providing a safe and nurturing environment for young people. Drug-addicted parents need to understand that they are harming their children. Services need to force them to make a decision between continuing with their drug habit or taking on the legitimate responsibilities of being a parent.
Drug-addicted parents should be given 12 to 18 months to get drug-free or lose their children.
NO - Martin Crewe, director, Barnardo's Scotland
The focus always has to be on the best interests of the child. Every situation is different and needs to be judged on an individual basis.
We should support families to stay together where possible, but be confident enough to intervene where help is clearly not working and the child is no longer safe.
We must be more willing to use options like adoption, fostering or residential care, but they should also be properly resourced and supported to ensure they are positive options for the child.
NO - Barbara Hudson, director, British Association for Adoption & Fostering Scotland
Calling for the removal of all children with addicted parents is an understandable, but simplistic response. Taking children into care does not end the problem. For these children it can be the first chapter in what, despite best efforts, can be an unstable and uncertain future.
We know that with the right support parents can overcome addiction. Of course there is a balancing act between the time it takes for someone to overcome their addictions, and the timescales of the child. Early intervention and support services for people with substance misuse problems are therefore essential.
