The Research Program

Abstract This chapter provides an overview of the mixed methods research strategy. The site of the research is predominantly white, working-class, rural Illinois in the early 21st century. Participants were twenty-nine children in foster care because of parent methamphetamine misuse, four mothers recovering from methamphetamine addiction, seven foster parents of children from methamphetamine-involved families, and twenty-eight knowledgeable rural professionals (child welfare and law enforcement professionals, substance abuse and mental health providers and educators). Methods included extensive participant observation primarily shadowing child welfare investigators; in-depth, audiotaped individual interviews with adults and children; and standardized psychological testing of children.