Swept under the carpet: children affected by parental alcohol misuse
This report by Alcohol Concern and The Children's Society highlights the significant impact on children of parental alcohol misuse.
Highlighting research showing that 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, the two charities argue for a national inquiry into the scale of harm and impact on society and for improved resources to protect children.
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 receive little or no training on alcohol misuse issues.
Including results from a new survey commissioned by Alcohol Concern and The Children's Society, the report outlines high levels of public concern over harmful drinking among parents. With more than 100 children as young as five contacting ChildLine every week with worries about their parents drinking and 78% of young offenders who misuse alcohol found to have grown up in homes with parental alcohol abuse and domestic abuse, this is an issue to be addressed with some urgency.
