As Alcohol Awarness Week (AWW) kicks off from 18 to 24 October, a joint report from Alcohol Concern and the Children’s Society has been released:
Swept under the carpet: children affected by parental alcohol misuse
The report identifies:
- An estimated 2.6 million children live with a parent whose drinking puts them at risk of neglect, and 705,000 live with a dependent drinker
- More than 100 children as young as five contacting ChildLine every week with worries about their parent's drinking
- 78% of young offenders who misuse alcohol found to have grown up in homes with parental alcohol abuse and domestic abuse
The report also calls for mandatory social work training in response to research showing that, despite factoring in more than 50 percent of their case loads, most social workers recieve little or no training on alcohol misuse issues. (See here for a pocket guide on susbtance misuse for social workers).
See the Alcohol Awareness Week page for more information.
Alcohol Focus Scotland recently released a story on 'Harmful parental drinking – the devastating effect on Scotland’s children.
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