WHERE HAVE ALL THE GROW OP KIDS GONE?

The bust of a grow op is no longer big news in Richmond.

However, many were outraged last summer when police found five
children under the age of five living in a house with more than a
thousand marijuana plants in it.

Real estate agent Tammy Wing Yan Tsui and her husband Clement Kin
Keung Cheung were charged with two counts of production of a
controlled substance and two counts of possession for the purpose of
trafficking as a result of the July 17 raids at 4382 Blair Dr. (where
the children were found) and at 7471 Minoru Blvd.

It is unknown at this point to what happened to the five
children.

"We don't know what happened to those kids," said Linda Korbin,
executive director of the B.C. Association of Social Workers.

Korbin said the public should know if these children and others found
in marijuana grow operations are protected.

The BCASW wants the Ministry of Children and Family Development to
adopt a policy that assesses the risk to children found at these
dangerous locations.

"What we want the ministry to do is develop a set policy. There has to
be a long range plan for these children, to ensure they are safe,"
said Korbin.

RCMP spokeswoman Cpl. Nycki Basra said Cheung was alone with the
couple's two children, as well as three other kids at the time of the
raid. All five were left in the care of relatives upon his arrest.

"Anytime we find that children are at risk, whether it is an illegal
drug operation, violence or other circumstances, we make a report to
the ministry," said Basra. "We had no authority to take those kids
because there was a relative available."

Basra added that any follow-up is at the discretion of the MCFD, but
the RCMP would support a policy made to protect children in this capacity.

"We would be all for it, anything that ensures our children's
safety."

In the past, Basra worked the narcotics section and she felt the
health effects of attending homes with marijuana grow ops, even "in
full gear."

"I would only be there a few hours and the next day I would feel like
I was hungover. These children don't have a choice, they should not
have to live there," said Basra.

Paul Jenkinson, BCASW's child welfare and family committee
spokesperson, said there are an estimated 7,000 large-scale grow ops
in production at any given time in the Lower Mainland, and one in five
have children in them.

"That works out to 1,400 to 2,000 children at risk, conservatively,"
said Jenkinson. The various risks include violence as a result of
"grow rips," carbon monoxide poisoning, inhaling high levels of THC
and fires as a result of faulty wiring, he added.

At the Cheung and Tsui raids, there was evidence to indicate there had
been a recent fire at the Blair Drive residence.

The BCASW has asked the ministry to demonstrate that it has an
organized way of assessing risk to these children. Currently, there is
no way of knowing if these children are being adequately protected and
if social workers are being given sufficient guidance, according to
BCASW.

The association does not question the professional judgment of social
workers, but it fears child protection investigations are too complex
to assess the risks associated with large-scale grow ops.

Over the past three years, BCASW has asked the ministry to produce a
standard set of guidelines or protocols to assist professional social
workers in their assessments of risk.

Vague generalities such as every situation being "unique" do not build
public confidence in the child protection system, Jenkinson said.

Requests have been rebuffed and the ministry's refusal to provide a
set policy is one reason there is a lack of growth in public
confidence, he said. However, he added, "I think they want the public
to have confidence in the child welfare system, and I predict the
ministry will produce a policy within the next six months."