Parents with Serious and Persistent Mental Illness: Issues in Assessment and Services

Abstract

Parents who have serious and persistent mental illness are often overlooked in social work and mental health journals. Furthermore, mentally ill parents typically are viewed from a pathology perspective that fails to address their desire to be competent parents. This article reviews the literature on mentally ill parents and addresses conceptual issues in assessment and services. The author critiques methods of assessment and recommends more appropriate and comprehensive assessment protocols. Model programs are discussed with a focus on the development of competent parenting skills combined with social supports for parents who have a serious and persistent mental illness.

Termination of Parental Rights for Parents with Substance Use Disorder: For Whom and Then What?

“…Burton, Jr. (1990) also found that 20 states statutorily remove children from the custody of mentally ill parents because of stigma, and a lack of social support and employment. Caseworkers and the courts frequently argue that parents diagnosed with mental illness are incapable of assuming caregiving roles (Ackerson, 2003), and their children are removed from their custody as a result (Burton, Jr., 1990). Caseworkers, child welfare professionals and the courts may also assume that caregiving is devalued by parents with mental illness (Ackerson, 2003), although study findings indicate otherwise (e.g., Mowbray, Oyserman, & Ross, 1995).…”

The impact of parental risk factors on child outcomes : examining parental incarceration within a multiple-risk model.

“…The prevalence of each of the risk factors is higher in this sample than in the general population. Nationally, 2% of children have an incarcerated parent (Johnson & Waldfogel, 2004), the poverty rate in the United States is approximately 13% (Corcoran & Chaudry, 1997), approximately 6% of children have a parent addicted to substances (Grant, 2000) and mentally ill parents are just as likely as those who are not mentally ill to parent at least one child (Ackerson, 2003). In the current sample 13% of children have a mentally ill parent, 11 % have a parent that uses substances, 17% have an incarcerated parent, and 70% live in poverty.…”

“…An unexpected consequence of the community mental health revolution is that more people struggling with mental illness are raising children. Research indicates that women with mental illness marry and have children at the same rate as other women, but have higher separation and divorce rates (Ackerson, 2003) Craig (2004) stated that mothers with mental illness fall into two categories with the first category being comprised of those women who are mentally ill (Le.…”

Legacy children : whose legacy are they?

“…Mentally ill parents typically are viewed from a pathology perspective that fails to address their desire to be competent parents (Ackerson, 2003 (Ackerson, 2003). Before deinstitutionalization many of these individuals resided in state hospitals and may have been less likely to marry or have children.…”

“…Some have expressed concerns regarding child protection social workers' inability to effectively treat clients with mental illness and the lack of clear objectives for improving parenting and role definition for mental health providers whose clients are also in the child protection system (Ackerson, 2003;Raske, 1997). Due to many more mentally ill persons living in the community instead of mental health institutions, child protection social workers and mental health providers may be dealing with many rT\0re individuals who are mentally ill and parents.…”