Barriers to Identifying Substance Abuse in the Reformed Welfare System

Substance abuse has been identified as a potential barrier to employment in the reformed welfare system. This article uses interviews with frontline welfare workers and policy makers to examine the process of identifying welfare clients for substance abuse services. Workers’ accounts reveal that official welfare policy, day‐to‐day work conditions, relationships with clients, and the unstated stigma surrounding substance abuse create an environment that interferes with their identification efforts. The lack of identification contrasts with the policy focus on clients’ alcohol and drug problems under welfare reform.