KIDS HURT BY DRUG DEALING TO GET SPECIAL CONSIDERATION

Children found in homes where drug dealing or manufacturing is going
on will get better care under new policies put in place Thursday,
officials said.

Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey and other officials announced
new child abuse policies that give specifics for how drug-endangered
children will be treated.

"These are children who are not only at risk for child abuse but
medical problems from exposure to chemicals found in drugs or used in
their manufacture," Morrissey said. "Some people say drug cases are
victimless crimes, but they are not victimless crimes when children
are involved."

Home meth labs pose a particular danger, he said.

"When these people pass out after hours of meth use and go into a meth
coma, the kids are just left on their own with no food, no water,
toilets backed up, all kinds of things," he said.

Young children in these situations are also at risk of ingesting the
drugs themselves, he said.

The policies are contained in a revision of the city's 2005 protocol
on handling child abuse cases. Morrissey said the protocol is being
examined by the National Alliance for Drug-Endangered Children for use
as a national model.

The policy provides for coordinated and streamlined response by
police, prosecutors, social services and medical personnel, Morrissey
said.

"What this really means is that we have taken the lag time out of the
decision-making process for handling these cases," said Denver police
Division Chief David Fisher. "I see our children, the most vulnerable
citizens of our community, getting much better service and treatment
without this lag time."

Time is critical in evaluating children for signs of child abuse or
health dangers posed by being around or ingesting drugs, said Dr.
Kathy Wells, medical director for Denver Health and Hospitals.

The new policy requires immediate medical evaluation, which is
critical for children found in homes where drugs are used or
manufactured.

Denver Human Services Director Patricia Wilson Pheanious urged
citizens to report suspected abuse to the child abuse hot line at
720-944-3000.