Impact of a parent’s use of drugs or substances on children in care
Published: November 13, 2025
This report examines how often parents of children in care use methamphetamine and other substances. It also identifies current service needs and gaps for these children.
Background
We used a statistical analysis to find the number of children in care who have parents that use or have used methamphetamine and other substances. Our source data was taken from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI).
From these datasets, we reviewed:
- substance abuse detoxification service use
- publicly funded hospital discharges due to substance usage
- records of parents with drug-related offences as provided by NZ Police.
Key findings
The data showed that:
- Children in care are more likely to have a parent with a drug and/or substance use issue, than the general population.
- Te Tai Tokerau has the highest rates of substance-related offences among parents
- Meth-related offence rates among parents of children urgently uplifted into Oranga Tamariki care under section 78 have dropped significantly since 2001.
In conclusion, our analysis found that:
- children in care are significantly more likely to have a parent with a substance use issue or meth-related offence,
- the rate of new cases is slowing.
This may reflect progress in early intervention. But this does not diminish the need for ongoing support for these whānau.