Drug house baby
Question
A young couple down my road have a small baby. They openly take drugs and deal from the address. If I reported them, would the child be taken into care?
Answer
Babies need a lot of attention and their welfare should be the main priority. If a baby is living in a house where someone is using drugs and dealing, their safety could be at risk.
It is the role of social services to be sure that babies and children in their area are as safe as they can be. A lot of people think the intention of social services is to take the child out of the home, but this isn't actually true. Social services aim to do what is best for the child.
In some cases, the child may stay at home, with social workers providing lots of support for the parents to improve the situation. Other options include arranging for the child to live with relatives until things at home get better. Alternatively, they might arrange for the child to be placed in temporary care.
Of course, the best way to prevent social services from getting involved is to encourage them to take responsiblity for the situation themselves. If you have a relationship with the couple in question, and feel able to address the issue, aim to make them aware of their duty to the child, and the consequences of their actions should the law become involved. For more infomation on how to handle such a discussion, contact Adfam. For advice about the effects of drugs you can contact Frank on 0800 776600. Finally, for the lowdown about drugs and the law you can contact Release on 0845 4500 215.
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Question answered by Addaction
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