Prenatal Drug Exposure and Pediatric AIDS: New Issues for Children's Attorneys

• NCJ Number: 129344
• Journal: Clearinghouse Review Volume: 24 Issue: 5 Dated: special issue (1990) Pages: 452-459
• Author(s): A English
• Date Published: 1990
• Length: 8 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Expanded version of article originally published in Lawyers for Children (1990), American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law, Washington, DC

Annotation

To provide effective legal representation for children who may have been exposed to drugs or infected with HIV, attorneys and advocates must become familiar with basic epidemiological and demographic data on these conditions and learn about service needs of affected children.

Abstract

The National Association for Perinatal Addiction Research and Education estimates that 11 percent of women use drugs during pregnancy resulting in the birth of 375,000 drug-exposed infants annually. Others, however, believe this estimate is too high and that a more realistic number is in the range of 50,000 infants. According to data maintained by the Centers for Disease Control, 2,315 cases of pediatric AIDS had been reported as of May 1990. Using HIV antibody and urine tests, hospitals are testing pregnant women and newborn infants for drugs with increasing frequency, and a few hospitals routinely screen all women and newborns. Further, a growing number of States require the reporting of prenatal drug exposure to child welfare and law enforcement authorities under child abuse reporting laws. Some States have even used criminal law to prosecute women who use drugs during pregnancy. In addition, many States include in their juvenile or family court codes provisions that provide for juvenile or family courts to assume jurisdiction of children as dependents based on problems associated with parental drug use. Before a court can conclude that jurisdiction and removal of the child are appropriate, however, it must consider whether reasonable efforts have been made to keep the family together. Child welfare caseloads have risen with the increased incidence of reported drug exposure, and some agencies report that cases of drug-exposed newborns require more supervision, staff time, and financial resources than other cases. Children born exposed to drugs or infected with HIV risk discrimination in access to necessary services including day care, foster care, medical care, and education. 87 endnotes