ARKANSAS CHILDREN AMONG VICTIMS OF METH ABUSE

BENTONVILLE, Ark. - After police arrest adults and haul off hazardous
chemicals from methamphetamine labs, they are often left to find care for
the children.

"In probably 80 percent of the busts, there are kids there," said Sgt. Mike
Johnson of the 19th Judicial District task force in Benton County.

In Arkansas within the last year, about three-fourths of meth-related
arrests were made in homes where children under the age of 12 lived,
officials said.

Arkansas leads the nation in meth busts per capita.

"Oh, it'll break your heart. When we take down a lab, you wouldn't believe
what we see," Sgt. Johnson said.

"We've seen little kids walking around naked in places that are
unbelievably filthy. Many of them are too little to know what's going on.
They look so confused when we cuff the adults - their mom or dad or both."

Drug-addicted adults often neglect the children and sometimes, Sgt. Johnson
said, teach older children how to cook the illegal stimulant.

"The ingredients to make methamphetamine can be purchased over the
counter," Sgt. Johnson explained. "They go home and mix it up and process
it by cooking it."

When relatives aren't available to take the children, the state Department
of Human Services is notified and the children are placed in foster care.

Commonly, the children are suffering from the effects of exposure to the
toxic fumes caused by cooking meth.

Health problems in children range from nausea to dehydration and pneumonia.
Conjunctivitis and skin irritations are common. Sinus and other respiratory
problems frequently occur, and some damage is permanent.

An exact cost for caring for the children isn't available, but DHS
estimates the annual cost of medical treatment for a child in foster care
with a chronic illness similar to asthma to be about $30,000.

Benton County Sheriff's Deputy Tom Brewster said a higher cost is the lack
of parenting.

"When you have children who have had no nurturing, no positive experiences,
no interaction with a parent who can show them love, you have a big, big
problem. And that's what we have," Deputy Brewster said.

Authorities at a checkpoint found a 16-month-old baby several weeks ago who
was overcome by meth fumes, he said.

"He just passed out from breathing the toxins," Deputy Brewster said.

"We saw one place where they had set up a lab on top of a child's crib.
They just placed a plank of wood across the top and cooked right there.
There are plenty of children growing up in places like that here in Benton
County," he said.

Deputy Brewster and Sgt. Johnson said education can help fight the problem.

Both said people need to know that meth labs are all over, not just in
remote areas.

"The drug crosses every boundary. It's not limited by economic or social
standing," Sgt. Johnson said.

"We have to teach youngsters so they'll understand what meth does," he said.

"I've talked to many meth users who don't know that it causes permanent
brain damage, along with injury to the lungs, heart and liver."