Impact and Response

Impact and Response

8.7 Million Children
nationwide have a parent with a substance use disorder 1
1.435 Million
children are living with a parent with opioid use disorder 2
240 Thousand
children had a parent die due to opioid overdose 3
325 Thousand
children have been removed from the home due to parental opioid use 4

Learn more about the impact and response to youth victims.

Age of Children Impacted

  • 0–5 years
    904,000
  • 6–11 years
    662,000
  • 12–17 years
    610,000 5

Opioid/Substance Use Exposure > Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and vulnerability to additional ACEs

  • Physical, emotional or sexual abuse
  • Physical or emotional neglect
  • Loss of or separation from parent
  • Exposure to violence 6

Learn more about the impact and response to youth victims.

Extended ACEs exposure can result in toxic stress that interferes with

a child's brain
development

their ability to manage / regulate stress response

Learn more about the impact and response to youth victims.

Toxic stress adversely impacts the child's ability to

  • sleep
  • pay attention
  • make decisions
  • learn
  • manage behavior
  • establish secure attachments

And potentially can result in

  • increased risky behaviors (smoking, alcohol/drug use)
  • poor academic achievement
  • increased likelihood of chronic disease

Learn more about the impact and response to youth victims.

Responding to Children and Youth

OVC funded 59 child/youth focused projects in 37 states beginning in 2018

Raising Awareness
exclamation point in an orange triangle
  • Child – Youth Victimization
  • Disease of Addiction
  • Youth-Driven & Family-Focus
  • Culturally Responsive
  • Advancing Trauma-Informed Practice and Evidence-Based Services
  • Informed Policy Making
  • Active Cross-Sector Partnering
  • Data Informed Decision Making

Learn more about the impact and response to youth victims.

Download this infographic as a PDF:

  • 1. Lipari, R.N., & Van Horn, S.L. (2014, August 24). Children living with parents who have a substance use disorder. CBHSQ Report. Rockville, MD: Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
  • 2. Brundage, S.C., & Levine, C. (2019). The ripple effect: The impact of the opioid epidemic on children and families. United Hospital Fund and Milbank Memorial Fund.
  • 3. Ibid.
  • 4. Children’s Defense Fund. (n.d.). The state of America’s children 2020, child welfare. Children’s Defense Fund. Retrieved from https://www.childrensdefense.org/policy/resources/soac-2020-child-welfare/.
  • 5. Brundage, S.C., & Levine, C. (2019). The ripple effect: The impact of the opioid epidemic on children and families. United Hospital Fund and Milbank Memorial Fund.
  • 6. The National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN). (2018). Child Trauma and Opioid Use: Policy Implications, NCTSN Policy Brief. Retrieved from https://www.nctsn.org/resources/child-trauma-and-opioid-use-policy-implications.