KIDS OF METH HOMES NEED EXTRA HELP

RUTHERFORDTON, N.C. - In five years as foster parents, Betsy Lane and
Rodrigo Hernandez have cared for many neglected children in need of a
safe place to call home. But the brother and sister who arrived on a
rainy night last year had troubles far worse than most.

The children had nothing. No games, no photos, no favorite blanket or
stuffed animal. All their possessions were contaminated, and
therefore all were destroyed. The elementary-school-aged siblings
were even hosed down by emergency workers to wash away the toxic
remnants of their home in rural western North Carolina, a home that
doubled as the family's methamphetamine lab.

"When I opened the door I was just sort of startled because they
looked so tired and so beaten down by the whole thing," Lane said.

The children were among about 200 N.C. youngsters found in the past
two years living in homes where parents were cooking meth. One expert
says these foster children, though small in number, have scars that
exceed those of others, including exposure to the toxic chemicals
used to make the drug.

"These kids literally come with nothing," said Stacey Darbee,
president of the North Carolina Foster and Adoptive Parent
Association. "They have some other problems that other kids won't
have. They'll have asthma from breathing chemicals in."

Meth addiction can lead to psychotic or violent behavior, as well as
brain damage. Those high on meth can stay awake for days at a time,
and if they're parents, that can mean children are left to feed,
bathe and clothe themselves.

"I mean, some of these kids have never even brushed their teeth,"
said Hernandez, 50, who runs a recycling business. "The first thing
to do is you have to set rules because most of these kids come from
homes where they have no rules. None. Zero."

The children of meth homes also bring topics such as sex, drugs and
coarse language into foster homes, forcing parents to take extra
precautions to protect their own children.

And yet, despite the pain their parents' mistakes have caused, Lane
said children from meth homes remain very protective of their
relatives, and fear others will find out what has happened.

The boy who came to live with the couple in January 2005 blamed
police, not his parents, for his family's troubles.

"He was really angry and I sat him down and I said, 'Do you want to
know what happened?' And he looked at me and said, 'I know what
happened.' He said, 'I just don't want anybody else to know,'" Lane,
41, recalled.

Meth labs have been particularly widespread in rural western North
Carolina, but some have recently been found on the state's coast.
Rutherford County, where Lane and Hernandez live, accounted for 44 of
the 328 labs found last year in the state. Authorities found 26
children living in 11 of those labs, said Lorie Horne, social
services supervisor for the county.