The Czech Republic Annual Report 2010 Drug ... - Drogy-info.cz

12.3.2 Helping Services
Help to children and families at risk of dependency on addictive substances has a long tradition in the Czech
Republic. In 1967 a Centre for Children, Young People, and the Family was opened at U Apolináře in Prague.
Providing care to children from alcoholic families, the centre was also involved in a number of research studies
looking into the effects of parents’ alcoholism on children.
The issue of parents’ use of drugs other than alcohol has received increased attention in the Czech Republic since
the 1990s, which correlates with the rise in the use of non-alcohol drugs in that period and the corresponding growth
in the number of children born to drug-dependent mothers or living in families affected by drug use. The first children
born to dependent mothers raised a number of questions as to how to address the consequences of such
developments for the mothers and their children and how to ensure the professional competences of practitioners
working with these clients. A significant moment was the opening of the therapeutic community of the SANANIM
civic association in Karlov in the year 2001, which made it possible to provide treatment for dependent mothers (or
fathers) together with their children (a total of 115 mothers and 117 children underwent treatment in this facility).
Other programmes have been added to the existing treatment options over time.
The national drug policy strategy has not paid much attention to the group of drug-using parents and their children
thus far (see above) and interventions targeted at this area are not receiving any special support, for example in the
form of subsidy priorities. Several addiction services (mostly outpatient ones), however, have been delivering a
range of interventions and programmes to these target groups (mostly pregnant users and dependent parents) for
many years.
As part of the preparation of this Selected Issue chapter of the Annual Report, from February to March 2011, the
National Focal Point carried out an online questionnaire survey aimed at finding to what degree drug treatment
facilities encounter pregnant users, dependent parents, and the children of such users in their practice. The objective
of the survey was to identify whether and what services are provided to this target group (Národní monitorovací
středisko pro drogy a drogové závislosti, 2011h). The questionnaire was completed by 87 facilities. In view of the fact
that the invitation to participate in the survey, with a reference to the questionnaire, was sent from the Help Map
application at www.drogy-info.cz, it is impossible to draw conclusions about the representativeness of the survey.
Nevertheless, the following information was collected:
80 (92%), 65 (75%), and 51 (59%) programmes reported that they meet drug-dependent parents of minor
children, drug-dependent pregnant women, and the children of such users, respectively, in their practice. The
largest number of clients was reported for the group of drug-using parents (approximately 3600 parents, 320
pregnant women, and 380 children of drug users). The reported numbers are only educated guesses in parts, as
approximately only 20% of the services maintain records of these client subgroups (drug-using parents, pregnant
users, and children are accounted for by 26%, 21%, and 14% of the agencies respectively).
The largest numbers of drug-using parents were reported by programmes in Prague, followed by the Ústí nad
Labem, Pilsen, and Central Bohemia regions. The largest numbers of drug-using pregnant women were
recorded in Prague and in the Ústí nad Labem, Central Bohemia, and Zlín regions. The largest numbers of
children of drug users engaged with programmes were reported in Prague again and in the Ústí nad Labem and
South Bohemia regions. This is probably related to the fact that the above-mentioned regions have a greater
representation of organisations that offer special programmes for the target group under consideration.
Disproportions between the data on the number of pregnant women and the number of children were identified in
some regions (for example, the Zlín region reported 25 pregnant users but no drug users’ children).
The largest numbers of contacts with drug-using parents and their children were reported by the staff of lowthreshold
centres and also by outpatient substitution centres and aftercare services. In addition, pregnant users
come into contact with outreach workers.
Special programmes for pregnant users and drug-using parents are offered by approximately 13% of the facilities
that were interviewed; similar programmes intended for children are only provided by 7% of the facilities.
While rather exceptional in the Czech Republic, organisations that provide special services for children of drugusing
parents include those providing psychotherapeutic care or family therapy (e.g. the ANIMA civic association,
which offers group and individual psychological care to children from families affected by addiction). Of the
providers of drug services, special programmes are offered by several organisations, especially the SANANIM
civic association, with its Karlov Therapeutic Community (dependent mothers, or fathers, undergoing treatment
together with their child), intensive day treatment during which the mother and the child may stay together in a
nursery home-type facility or maintain regular contact (Day Care Centre), and the services of the Aftercare Centre
providing sheltered housing for mothers with children. In addition, the issue of families at risk of addiction or drug
abuse on the part of parents is addressed by Prague’s Centre for the Family of the Drop-In public service
company, which provides a structured programme for drug-using mothers.
Specialised services for pregnant users or drug-dependent parents are offered by several programmes in the
Czech Republic (approximately 13% of the agencies interviewed). They are, first and foremost, low-threshold
drop-in centres and, rather rarely, residential treatment programmes and aftercare programmes. Treatment
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