MAY 23, 2002 | A UAMS program that helps children along with their addicted mothers is a good drug treatment model, a visiting Australian researcher said on a recent visit.

Barbara Denton, Ph.D., of Melbourne, Australia, spent several days visiting Arkansas CARES, a residential treatment program for women with substance abuse problems, and their children. The program is part of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences of the College of Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). Dr. Denton is a research fellow at the School of Law and Legal Studies at La Trobe University in Melbourne. She was traveling in the United Kingdom and the United States to observe different social services for addicts and their families.

"Drug use affects all families in some way. Everyone has a family member with a drug problem," Dr. Denton told a small group of leading drug treatment specialists with Arkansas CARES and other substance abuse experts in a discussion May 10.

"I've found that children of addicts in Scotland, Ireland, the UK, the US, all have the same set of learning and behavior problems," she said. "Their parents need to be aware of how important it is to interact with their children," she said. Dr. Denton is the author of Prisons, Drugs and Women: Voices from Below (UNSW Press). She is a lawyer and a sociologist.

Cindy Crone, R.N., A.P.N., executive director of Arkansas CARES, arranged Dr. Denton's tour of substance abuse programs in Arkansas. She led the discussion May 10 with LeeLee Doyle, Ph.D., associate dean for continuing medical education in the College of Medicine and a longtime researcher in women's health; Barbara Baldwin of Arkansas CARES Eastgate; S. Michael Owens, Ph.D., a pharmacologist who specializes in treatment of methamphetamine addiction; Bill Hardin, chairman of the Arkansas Alcohol and Drug Abuse Coordinating Council; Janice Summerhill, LPC, a therapist with Arkansas CARES; and Patti Bokony, Arkansas CARES program director.

Hardin commented that Arkansas CARES has demonstrated the effectiveness of family-centered services to addicted women, including parenting education; child care; and special education services for children with special needs, yet the state has no funding for prevention and treatment of drug abuse. Dr. Denton suggested that statistics concerning the proportion of incarcerated alcoholics and drug addicts with families might increase legislative support for such services.

"They're not just an offender. They're a mother, a father, a brother, a son. How many [inmates] have children under five years?," she said. Summerhill agreed.