Human Services News

From EurekAlert! - Breaking News:

A new joint study by UCLA and the Rand Corp. shows that more than half of children with an HIV-infected parent are not consistently in that parent's custody.

Researchers found that during the two-year study period, 42 percent of children were not in the HIV-infected parent's custody at any time.

The research is the first to use data from a nationally representative sample of people in care for HIV infection to investigate the custody status of children.

"Children of HIV-infected parents are at risk for behavioral and emotional problems.

A stable home may help these children and their parents cope with the effects of HIV on the family," said lead author Burt Cowgill, M.P.H., a doctoral candidate in the department of health services at the UCLA School of Public Health and a researcher at the UCLA/Rand Center for Adolescent Health Promotion.

"By understanding whether children of HIV-infected parents remain in their parent's custody, pediatricians and other physicians may be able to help families address custody issues and offer referrals to social services."

Cowgill added that pediatricians may also want to suggest that HIV-infected parents include future custodians in their children's doctor visits so that these individuals are familiar with the physical and mental health needs of the children.

HIV-infected fathers, parents with more advanced HIV disease, drug-using parents and parents with at least one hospital stay were less likely to have custody of their children.

Parents cited drug use (62 percent) and financial hardship (27 percent) most often as reasons for losing custody of their children.

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