Social Work Guidelines for Street Children with Substance UseDisorders

This study was designed with the purpose of providing organized instructions on how to improve thepsychological, medical, and social circumstances of street children with concurrent substance usedisorders. due to the special vulnerabilities of these children, customized guidelines are required in orderto maximize the treatment outcomes. systemic review of literature was applied on a large number ofnational and international journal articles available on the phenomenon of substance use among streetchildren. the literature review was followed by a qualitative study using in-depth interviews in order torecord and analyze the experience of experts working in this field. the preliminary draft was reviewed bythe experts and final modifications were applied. the ultimate guideline presents practicalrecommendations for different stages of providing service for the target population including casefinding, motivational interventions, assessment, care and intervention planning, and follow-ups. streetchildren face various physical, psychological, and social complications. substance use disorders canexacerbate their circumstances and add to the complexity of their problems. the current guideline is aninitial step to better understanding and treating street children who use drugs. further research is requiredto investigate the effectiveness and long term results of this guideline .considering the fact that iran is oneof the many countries dealing with this phenomenon, adjustments should be made for application indifferent cultures.