METH STRAINS FAMILY COURT

Drug Tied To Rise In Child Neglect, Abuse

Think of methamphetamine cases clogging court dockets and an image of
an unkempt addict standing before a judge comes to mind.

But meth is taxing the local justice system in another way. Hardin
County Family Court, which handles cases such as child support and custody,
divorce, neglect and abuse, must help children who suffer from neglect and
abuse because their parents are strung out on the drug, or because adults
cook and sell it.

The meth scourge is one reason Hardin County Family Court Judge Pamela
Addington thinks the county could use a second full-time family court
judge.

The most recent case that grabbed headlines involved 10 children who
attended a slumber party at a home on Mud Splash Road in southern
Hardin County where police said a couple, Wendell and Stacy Perkins,
were running a meth lab.

Hardin County prosecutors worked more than 40 meth cases last year,
said the state Administrative Office of the Courts.

In less than a year, the number of cases involving methamphetamine has
"definitely increased," Addington said. "So many children have been
affected."

Kids run into problems even if parents aren't using meth. Selling and
cooking it puts them at risk, Addington said.

"It's a very dangerous situation for the children to be in," she said.
"Children have to be addressed immediately."

Drugs are a common theme in family court. With most neglect and abuse
cases, there is an under-current of some kind of parental substance
abuse.

Not only is the meth problem getting worse, but Hardin County had
Kentucky's highest divorce rate in 2003.

Addington's caseload is evidence of how busy she is. During the last
half of 2004, she handled 5,306 cases. Judge T. Steven Bland, who
works part-time as part of the state's senior judge program, had 1,756
cases. Judges also dealt with more than 1,000 orders during that time.

A new, full-time judge would be warranted considering the current
caseload, Addington said.

She said her days are "pretty full." On Mondays, Addington tries to
wrap up domestic violence cases by noon. However, a third of the time
they run late, sometimes until 3 p.m. That causes delays in divorce
and paternity hearings.

She often skips lunch. "I try not to inconvenience the public any more
than I have to," she said.

A second family court judge has been requested for Hardin County,
Circuit Court Clerk Ralph Baskett said.

The Kentucky Supreme Court will decide whether the county gets a
second family court division this fall, said Penny Warren, the state's
general manager of mediation and family court services. Justices will
consider factors such as caseload per judge and a jurisdiction's population.

"There is nothing going on right now with respect to Hardin County,"