We are delighted to announce the release of this book containing a chapter by Judy Corlyon, Principal Researcher/ Consultant at the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations (TIHR).

The chapter is based on research commissioned as part of Phase II of the Department of Health’s Drug Misuse Research Initiative which focused on understanding treatment, experiences and services. The motivation for research was a 2003 report of the Inquiry of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs which drew attention to the fact that in England and Wales between 200,000 and 300,000 children under the age of 16 (almost 3% of all children in that age group) had one or both parents with a serious drug problem. The report drew on a range of research to highlight the damage caused to children whose parents misuse drugs and called for the evaluation of existing interventions aimed at supporting and improving outcomes for these children. The Government’s response included a commitment to ensure that research was conducted to establish what types of interventions are successful in working with the children of problem drug users.

Though some small-scale studies ensued, they were mainly mechanisms for sharing information and practice. Our research, therefore, aimed to fill the gap by determining the range and type of services provided for the children of drug-misusing parents in England and to explore a number of projects in greater depth to establish the extent to which they met the needs of their clients.