Full Citation

Title: From Fostering Hope to Lingering Harm: The Unintended Impact of the OxyContin Reformulation on Child Welfare Utilization

Citation Type: Journal Article

Publication Year: 2021

ISBN:

ISSN:

DOI:

NSFID:

PMCID:

PMID:

Abstract: American government officials are increasingly enacting supply-side interventions, such as drug reformulations, to combat the opioid crisis. I study the unintended consequences of the OxyContin reformulation on child welfare utilization by exploiting cross-state variation in rates of prereformulation OxyContin misuse. A growing literature suggests that after the reformulation, a subset of people with opioid use disorder transitioned from using prescription opioids to using heroin. If that these individuals were caregivers of children, there would be a higher need for child welfare services, such as foster care. Although foster care case and entry rates increased after the reformulation, I find that it was not due to an increase in Child Protective Services inquires, such as reports of maltreatment. These findings suggest that the unintended consequences of the reformulation were not limited to the drug users themselves but also affected their children and the state agencies that serve families and children.

Url: https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/713378

User Submitted?: No

Authors: Mackenzie-Liu, Mattie

Periodical (Full): Social Service Review

Issue: 1

Volume: 95

Pages: 36-65

Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Poverty and Welfare

Countries: