Some children and their parents do not think that the work with addiction problems is sufficiently systematic in the treatment work of the Children’s and Family Center’s treatment homes.
The children want more education about their consumption behavior, psychological interviews to understand their own behavior, and they call for a treatment approach similar to AA’s tracking system.
This is stated in a new report by the Quality and Monitoring Agency (GEV) for welfare on treatment homes in Iceland.
It also states that there are indications that treatment at home is not suitable enough for children who struggle with a serious substance abuse problem and would need a different treatment in those cases, for example with the involvement of the health system.
According to GEV’s interviews with treatment home staff, they also call for greater connection to the health system, especially psychiatric services.
People look for other jobs
The staff cited examples where children were placed in emergency care but, in the opinion of the staff, would have rather needed mental health services. The children did not receive services from the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry because of their behavior.
The staff said that it is difficult for them to serve children with severe mental problems, such as children with self-harming behavior or in danger of life.
Examples were mentioned that the placement of children with such a problem had a negative effect on the well-being of other children who attend treatment services in treatment homes, as well as that it caused increased stress on staff, which led to increased sickness absences or that people looked for other jobs.
GEV reiterates that the Ministry of Education and Children’s Affairs guarantees children with addiction problems the resources they need.
Consume harsher substances than before
In the report, it is stated that GEV has received information from the parents of two children that at the treatment home in Stuðlum there was some evidence that children had consumed drugs during their treatment stay.
They either brought in the materials themselves or had outsiders bring them to them. The parents said it was almost impossible for their children to stop using drugs during their placement, and their drug problem even increased inside the treatment home because of this.
The children had begun to use harder drugs at the end of the stay than at the beginning.
