Line in the Sand: Custody When Parents Face Alcohol and Substance Abuse

It almost goes without saying that the “tension” between the “best interests of the child” and the rights of the child’s parents to custody and/or access to the child is evident to our courts on a daily basis in cases where the parents exhibit little or no pathology. That tension becomes even more acute when the courts are faced with parents afflicted by alcoholism and substance abuse, a problem that presents itself in more and more contested custody cases each day. Binge drinking can become a norm for some parents, and many others subsist on prescription medication in order to “get them through the day.” This virtual “pandemic” goes untreated partly because many substance and alcohol abusers are highly functioning while at work or engaged in activities outside their homes. Unnervingly, this means that many substance and alcohol abusing parents are left in the position of caring for their children.

Nevertheless, the ramifications of addiction cannot be ignored. In families, it is the children who inevitably suffer the most. The following discussion explores several cases in which substance or alcohol abusing parents were denied custody, how we identify substance abuse versus substance dependency, the “gray area” that judges face when deciding these cases, and what lawyers can do when confronted with the dynamic of addiction and alcohol/substance abuse in their cases.