YOUTH DISPAIR WHEN PARENTS ARE IN PRISON

I would like to offer an explaination for Delaware's poor ranking in the
National Household Survey on Drug Abuse.

Considering that Delaware is second only to Louisiana with regard to
incarceration figures, it is safe to assume that our criminal justice
system has many parents locked up in it's brand new jails. These parents
are no longer at home for their children, and the children have a void to fill.

Drugs calm the rage they feel toward their government. Delaware's criminal
justice system is creating its own reason for being.

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1.96 million children have a
relative or close family member in jail. Half of the juveniles in custody
have a parent or close relative in jail.

On Sept. 10, you printed a letter from Gregg C. Sylvester, secretary of the
state Department of Health and Social Services. He agreed with U.S. health
secretary Donna Shalala that Delaware's rating was an "anomaly".

I believe Delaware's poor rating is no anomaly. Mr. Sylvester added
feel-good rhetoric about "community" and "prevention," but he offered no
hard numbers or real explaination for Delaware's continuing failure to
contol people's bad habits.

Barry McCaffrey, our shame-ridden drug czar has been called before Congress
for lying about statistics and about Netherland's drug policy. Donna
Shalala and Gregg Sylvester should be held accountable also, if only for
blindness.