AS DRUGS DESTROY, NEW FAMILIES TAKE SHAPE

Grandparents Put Off Retirement to Care for Offspring of Meth Users

CROSSVILLE, Tenn. -- Delta and Paul Cottrell thought they would be
empty nesters by the time they reached their 60s. By then, they would
have competed the toughest job of their lives--parenting--and a
leisurely retirement would be just a few years away.

But methamphetamine has a way of altering lives, not just for those
who abuse the drug but also for the relatives who step in to pick up
the pieces when families fall apart. So Delta Cottrell, 56, and her
57-year-old husband, Paul, have settled into an unexpected life as
parents of her 11- and 7-year-old grandchildren, adopted when Delta's
stepdaughter from another marriage lost custody because of drugs.

"When this happens, your whole life is imposed upon, but it is by
choice because there is no other way," said Paul Cottrell, a retired
Air Force veteran who works as a construction site handyman. "I would
not take anything for my children, but our new lifestyle means there
is no time for me, and more of my hard-earned money is going toward
things I had not planned for."

State Welfare Systems Hurt

What happened in one home in rural Tennessee is being played out
across the U.S. as methamphetamine makes its way across the country,
breaking up families and creating an influx of abused and neglected
children who have placed an unprecedented burden on state welfare systems.

In many cases, grandparents are viewed as the last hope for relieving
foster care systems that are overflowing. And they are stepping out
of retirement or forgoing it in record numbers to raise grandchildren
whose parents are unable or unwilling to take responsibility.

More than 4.5 million children in the United States live with their
grandparents, according to the 2000 census, a 30 percent increase
from 1990. An additional 1.5 million children live with other relatives.

The increase in so-called grandfamilies, experts said, coincides with
the rise in meth addiction, particularly in rural areas where social
services are limited. In a recent study by Generations United, a
grandparents advocacy group, 40 percent of child welfare workers
reported an increase in meth-related placements.

In Montana, 57 percent of the foster care placements are related to
meth, according to the study. In some areas of Iowa, meth is
responsible for up to 80 percent of placements, and in Oregon, more
than 71 percent. In Tennessee, the number of such cases rose to 700
children in 2004 from 400 in 2003.

"Because of meth and other problems, grandparents have become
lifelines for so many hurt children," said Donna Butts, executive
director of Generations United. But, she said, grandparents are not
receiving the support they need.

Advocacy groups are lobbying Congress to change laws to make it
easier for grandparents and other relatives to care for children,
giving them the same rights as foster parents but easing some of the
stringent requirements for state licensing. The federal government
and many states, however, have been slow to grant financial help and
decision-making rights to relatives who have no legal status in the
child's life.

"In the foster care system, there are restraints on how many
bathrooms you can have. You have to go through parenting classes, and
there is oversight," Butts said. "Under current rules, a grandparent
would have to ask the court if the child can travel outside the state
or spend the night with friends. These rules are outdated."

Congress last year approved $145 million in matching grants to help
local officials provide services to children affected by drugs. When
Congress extended the USA Patriot Act, lawmakers included a provision
restricting the sale of over-the-counter medications containing
pseudoephedrine--a primary ingredient in meth. Thirty-nine states,
including Illinois, already had taken that action, which has
contributed to a decline in amateur meth labs and children affected by them.

But Mexican super-labs have taken their place, saturating the country
with the highly addictive drug that has disproportionately affected
young women, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

"When people are on meth, they don't think about feeding a child or
changing a diaper. When they come down from a meth high, they crash
and sleep for a long time, so you might have a 4-year-old trying to
take care of a 2-year-old," said Joe Dunn, associate legislative
director for the National Association of Counties lobbying group.
"Some counties are spending over $1 million a year on child welfare
because of meth."

When a child is removed from a meth-lab home, he often arrives at the
grandparents' home with nothing. And he often suffers from medical problems.

This can cause a financial burden for grandparents, many of whom are
on fixed incomes. Foster parents receive monthly assistance;
grandparents, for the most part, receive little or no financial aid.

Illinois has been a leader in establishing so-called subsidized
guardianship programs, which provide relatives the same rights as
foster parents as well as financial support.

One of a dozen states to receive a waiver from the federal government
to use Title 4 funds designated for foster children to provide
subsidies for relatives, Illinois drastically reduced its foster care
caseload between 1997 and 2002. Only 3.5 percent of the 6,820
children in the system during that time returned to state custody,
with the majority finding permanent homes with grandparents or other
relatives. In March, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
ended the waiver program.

Peril to Children Decried

While alcohol and other drugs, including crack cocaine and heroin,
devastate urban communities, U.S. Atty. Gen. Alberto Gonzales
declared meth the most dangerous drug in America in terms of its
damage to children.

People such as the Cottrells are on the front line of the battle to save them.

Ann, the stepdaughter raised by Delta Cottrell, started using drugs
at age 13, developing an addiction that has cycled her in and out of
jail for all of her adult life. When Ann's oldest son, Todd, was a
year old, she left him with Delta one day and never returned. Delta
raised him for two years, driving two school bus routes and working
as a restaurant manager to support him. But when she went to court to
get temporary custody, the child's father fought for full custody and won.

"To him, I was mom. And if grandparents had the rights they should
have, my Todd would be here with me now," Delta said.

She and her husband adopted Todd's younger brother, Zachery, now 11,
and Amber Rose, now 7, in 2003. The state removed Ann's parental
rights and asked Delta to seek legal custody. Ann, now 32, signed
them away to the Cottrells and is no longer part of their lives.

For the first four months, the Cottrells received no help from the
state of Tennessee. Both children had medical problems and needed
counseling. Zachery, who suffers from attention deficit disorder,
takes five medications.

Both children are now enrolled in TennCare, the state's medical care
program for children, and the Cottrells receive $9 a day to care for
Amber Rose and $12 a day for Zachery.

They have built a comfortable life in a six-bedroom home that is
bustling with energy. Two of the Cottrells' former foster
children,18-year-old Kendra and her 19-year-old sister, Dawn, have
returned home. Dawn's 7-month-old daughter, Charlee, also lives
there. A mentally challenged friend of the family, 21-year-old
Sheena, recently moved in. There are also three dogs and a cat.

Days and evenings are full for the Cottrells. Delta, who underwent
surgery in May for a brain aneurysm, said, "You do get tired
sometimes and you realize why God gives children to young people.

"For me, the children I gave birth to are no different than the
children I adopted. Children don't only come from the womb, they come
from the heart."