Child Care in Outpatient Substance Abuse Treatment Facilities for Women: Findings from the 2008 National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services

Mothers with substance use disorders who lack access to child care are often unable to enter or remain in substance abuse treatment. This study examined the availability of child care in outpatient substance abuse treatment facilities and whether or not certain facility characteristics were associated with the availability of child care. Using data from the 2008 National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services, 6.5% of outpatient substance abuse treatment facilities that served women provided child care. The results of multivariate logistic regression found that child care was more common among facilities that were located in metropolitan areas, were operated by non-profit or government agencies, received public funding, or provided free services or other ancillary services including case management, domestic violence counseling, and transportation assistance. Facilities that served only women had more than three times higher odds of providing child care compared with mixed-gender facilities. Further research is needed to identify strategies for expanding child care in outpatient substance abuse treatment facilities.