Drug Endangered Children
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What is a drug endangered child?
A child is considered drug endangered when he or she is exposed to clandestine production, use, or trafficking of illicit substances. Although children of alcoholics, drug traffickers, and other substance abusers have experienced abuse that accounts for over half of all substantiated child abuse cases in the U.S., the DEC movement was born out of the extreme violence associated with methamphetamine users in particular. This term refers to children aged 0-18.
History of DEC-- (http://www.2stopmeth.org/events/86.shtml)
DEC was created in 1993 and involved bringing a multiple discipline effort to coordinate agencies to help children in drug homes.
"We built this program, which included developing memos of understanding and protocols. We identified meth labs as hazardous to children, who are exposed to chemicals, threats of explosions and burns, toxic fumes when chemicals are cooking, unfit and filthy conditions, and drug paraphernalia, such as syringes," said Sue Webber-Brown, DEC program coordinator.
Webber-Brown is an Investigator for the District Attorney's Office serving with the Butte Interagency Narcotics Task Force. She has been a pioneer of this special program.
"At that time, children weren't really being seen as victims," Webber-Brown said. They were handed over to a relative, friend, or neighbor, but the children needed more help and support."
Webber-Brown worked with social worker Lisa Fey to create a program with appropriate services and agencies to get children the support they needed and DEC was formed.
"The parents also needed help and we talked about rehabilitation programs for them, too," Webber-Brown said. "I'm very proud of our program, which has since been implemented state wide and a National Alliance has been formed, but it originated right here in Butte County."
District Attorney Mike Ramsey said, "Yes, Butte County's DEC program is the first of its kind in the nation. It's amazing because when we first began, it seemed so logical and right that we thought we must be behind the curve and were just catching up to other regions, but we discovered we were the first and only ones doing it. It was incredible and really took off with our ambassador, Sue Webber-Brown, taking it across the state and country. When she travels and explains the program to other prosecutors, they say, 'You're right. This is important and the way to do it.'"
Since December 1993, Webber-Brown has trained more than 24,000 people in 23 states. She said BINTF works as a team with the Department of Social services. "We could not do our job without the dedicated social workers assigned to the DEC team," she said.
• Some 3.3 million cases of child abuse are reported each year.
• 906,000 of these are substantiated.
Some 400,000-480,000 newborns in the U.S. are born to mothers who used illicit substances during pregnancy. At the present time, approximately 5% of these babies will go to out-of-home care with the remaining 95% will return home with mothers who have not been assessed or received treatment (SAMHSA, Office of Applied Studies, National Survey of Alcohol and Drug Use During Pregnancy 2002 & 2003, Nancy Young, National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare, 2006).
Although some data do estimate the number of child abuse cases that involve adult substance abuse, data collection that allows further investigation of the issue does not yet exist. Some national estimates are that somewhere between 50-60% of child abuse cases are linked to adult substance using behavior. The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) madates notification of child protection staff if substance-exposed newborns are identified as being affected by illegal substance abuse.
Children in drug homes may experience one or more of the following:
Lack of nurturing and emotional response, particularly of concern 0-6 years
- Developmental delays
- Depression
- Attachment disorders
- Malnutrition and failure to thrive
- Exposure to adults who experience patterns of drug use, paranoia and hallucinations, followed by crashing
Failure to protect, a concern 0-18 years
- "Loaning" children to other adults in exchange for drugs
- Emotional abuse
- Exposure to drugs, dangerous people
- Sexual abuse
- Physical abuse
- Exposure to dangerous home environments, disconnected fire alarms, dangerous wiring
- Forced participation in drug activity
The "Older" Drug Endangered Child One of the difficulties of responding to the needs of the drug endangered child age 10-18 is dealing with behaviors they may exhibit, drug use experiences they may have had, and the distrust they have developed for adults and systems that have failed to protect them in the past.
Understanding the need to respond compassionately to an infant discovered living in a meth lab is easier in many ways than responding to a child who may already be a skilled meth cook in his own right. Children of addicts likely have an intimate awareness of the inner-workings of the drug world and although the risks are very real to them, it is what they know. The "rules" of a drug home are:
1. Don't Talk.
2. Don't Trust.
3. Don't Feel.
All human beings need the freedom and safety to talk, trust, and feel without consequence or risk of harm. Children from drug homes do not experience such luxury. Substance-using parents' value drugs over their own children, adults often fail to hear earlier, often silent, pleas for help, and the harm caused to children seeking validation and purpose can be painfully deep.
Children of addicts are at increased risk of developing addictions of their own. Mental health services that address the specific trauma associated with drug homes are not available in many rural communities where the meth epidemic has hit the hardest.
The good news is these children are not lost, they are simply in need of services from people within their own communities who see them as valuable and are willing to make the investment of time and advocacy.
Realistically speaking, this is not an easy feat to accomplish. Older drug endangered children have been lied to, abandoned, and abused; why should they believe anyone can make a difference? This question is the primary reason community-based DEC efforts are critical.
