Through public awareness campaigns, educators and safety organizations
have ensured through the years people know the hazardous effects illegal
drugs have on the user. But what about the children who play and sleep in their homes, never
suspecting they are being exposed to toxins produced during the manufacture
or use of methamphetamine?
Studies from around the country show meth can have immediate and long-term
effects on children who live in an environment where meth has been produced
or smoked. And while agencies cannot always prevent parents from exposing
their children to this dangerous chemical mixture, agencies can be ready
to deal with the issues when they arise.
One of the ways Pope County prepares for drug exposure to children is
by participating in drills where trained personnel must intervene in
simulated situations. The last drill, conducted on Nov. 16, involved
the Pope County Sheriff's Department, Department of Children and Family
Services (DCFS) and Saint Mary's Regional Hospital Emergency Room.
Gary McElligott, emergency operations manager for Code Camey and Associates
in Dardanelle, coordinated the drill. Twelve responders with the focus
of handling children exposed to methamphetamine production were required
to assess and handle the situation using current protocols.
The drill, which McElligott deemed a success, resulted in the handling
of two simulated exposed children in a manner that protected the responders,
safely treated and transported the children to the ER, and preserved
any evidence for prosecution.
METH EFFECTS ON CHILDREN
McElligott, who also participates in the River Valley Meth Project and
the 15th Judicial District Drug Coalition, said, "Our focus lately
[in the drills] has been on meth production in clandestine labs and
the effects on the children exposed. But the reality is even the parents'
use of meth and other drugs can create a lot of problems for children."
He said studies have shown 80 percent of the smoked form of methamphetamine
is exhaled and rests on every surface of the house. As the children
live in this environment, everything they touch - the couch, the coffee
table, their toys - causes potential exposure.
And the noticeable effects on the exposed child vary in each situation,
he said, but range from respiratory distress and severe asthma to birth
defects and brain dysfunction - not to mention signs of neglect.
METH AND PARENTING
Christy Jackson, investigator with Pope County DCFS Department of Health
and Human Services, sees these effects on a daily basis.
Jackson, who primarily investigates situations dealing with child abuse
and neglect, said the effects of meth on child abuse is "a constant
problem."
An average of 300 cases of child abuse and neglect are opened in Pope
County each year, and according to Jackson, the majority of those cases
are meth-related.
"When I first started at DHS 11 years ago, marijuana was the big thing,
huffing paint, and every now and then we would see parents using cocaine,"
Jackson said. "But now, it's all about meth."
She explained that although making meth or smoking meth around children
is harmful and DHS would intervene if notified of the situation, she
said that's not what usually gets DHS involved.
"Most of the time when we get a call about physical abuse, inadequate
supervision or home environment issues, we usually find out later that
meth was involved," Jackson said, explaining meth addicts can become
violent when "coming down" off of the drug. She said users will
also sleep uncontrollably, leaving their children unattended.
"Then when that small child runs out in the street, that's when
we get the call," she said, adding a child in a similar situation
would likely be taken into foster care until a judge could make a decision
on his or her future.
"Any parent who uses meth becomes such a selfish parent," Jackson
said, "because all they're worried about is getting their next high.
... But just because they use doesn't mean they don't love their
child. It just means that they aren't making good choices."
On the occasions children are found in a home where meth has been manufactured,
Jackson said the protocols displayed in the county drills are put into
effect. The child is taken to the hospital for examination and placed
into DHS custody.
In those situations, personnel are equipped and trained to use an "on-call
response bag," developed in part by Marti Wilkerson, associate professor
of rehabilitation science at Arkansas Tech University and coordinator
of Academic Partnership in Public Child Welfare. The bag helps responders
to keep the child safe, while preserving any evidence to later be used
in court.
METH ARRESTS AND PROSECUTION
While making or selling methamphetamine - a Class Y felony - holds
a range of punishment of 10-40 years or life in prison, 5th Judicial
District Prosecuting Attorney David Gibbons said cases in which children
were harmed during the process could lead to even harsher punishment
for the offender.
"There are enhancements in place that once a person is found guilty
of manufacturing or possessing paraphernalia with the intent to manufacture
meth, we can enhance their punishment an additional 10 years if it is
done in the presence of a minor," Gibbons said, adding the legislation
that put pseudoephedrine behind the counter has cut down on manufacturing
cases in the area.
METH AWARENESS IN THE FUTURE
An issue currently being discussed in the drug awareness realm, McElligott
said, is creating a tracking mechanism for children who have been exposed
to meth.
He also explained an ongoing awareness campaign has been designed to
educate the community on how to recognize the hazards and the symptoms
involved with those hazards. And by also trying to reach young students
to make them aware of the hazards, campaign coordinators hope the children
will avoid a future of drug abuse.
"These children are our future," McElligott said. "They are our
workforce and our leaders. And the fact is that the increase in Resource
and Special Ed departments in the public school system has evolved form
normal birth defects to drug- and alcohol-exposed issues. And the percentage
of that population appears to have increased from these exposures. We've
got to do something."
