DESCENT INTO DARKNESS: METH AND KIDS

Finding a methamphetamine lab in a car parked on an isolated road in Cerro
Gordo County was not unusual.

What was unusual was the presence of a 5-year-old girl in the Nissan
Sentra, just inches away from the lab, Sheriff Kevin Pals said.

The child, who was treated for exposure to dangerous chemicals in August
2004, is a prime example of the impact methamphetamine use can have on
children.

"We actually have quite a few cases where children are at risk," said Larry
Kollman, treatment social worker with the Iowa Department of Human Services
(DHS) in Mason City. "It's very, very frequent that we see it."

Iowa has enacted a law making it a crime to manufacture methamphetamine --
a very strong central nervous system stimulant -- in the presence of
children, Kollman said.

Exposure to methamphetamine or related chemicals can impair cognitive,
speech and motor skill development, he said. Aggressive behavior,

Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and attachment disorders are common.

"The DHS is so concerned about meth use, we've hired meth specialists to
keep us informed about how we can better help children and families,"
Kollman said. "It's not a new thing. We're just seeing more of it today."

Placing children in foster care is one option unless there are family
members who can provide adequate care for the child.

In other cases, the child remains in the home under careful monitoring by
the DHS, Kollman said.

Becky Heilskov, child abuse investigator for the Cerro Gordo County DHS,
said the department's five investigators become involved whenever police
conduct a drug raid and find children under age 18 have been exposed.

Investigators cover Cerro Gordo, Hancock, Winnebago and Worth counties.

"They call us and we go out and assess the safety of the children," she
said. "Our role is to determine if they're safe in the home."

If parents are uncooperative, the children may be removed, Heilskov said.

"We look at the age of the child and the risk to the child," she said.

IF THERE is suspicion that parents have been using methamphetamine, a hair
stat test is conducted on their children with the assistance of the Cerro
Gordo County Department of Public Health to determine if they have been
exposed to the drug or have ingested it, Heilskov said.

"Parents that are using don't make good choices," she said. "They don't see
the link between their behavior and their children. They're paranoid,
consumed with obtaining drugs."

Younger children are at greatest risk because they cannot meet their own needs.

Children of parents who use drugs are three to four times more likely to be
neglected or physically or sexually abused, Heilskov said.

"Violence and danger are high in homes where drug dealings are occurring in
the presence of children," Heilskov said. "We've had parents who've brought
their kids along with them in the car when they've made drug deals."

Juvenile Court Judge Gerald Magee tries a case at least once a week that
involves children whose parents use meth and neglect them. He has held as
many as four hearings weekly concerning children impacted by meth use.

"It's destroying families," he said.

First, there's the financial impact caused by the cost of the drug, and the
possible loss of employment, which typically happens among long-time meth
users, Magee said.

"People can be very paranoid," Magee said. "They become very resistant to
everybody and anybody."

The basic necessities children require also suffer, Magee said. They
typically lack adequate health care, nutrition, housing and cleanliness in
addition to being exposed to dangerous elements in the household.

Unfortunately, children usually want to live with their parents, no matter
how bad anyone from the outside may perceive it to be, Magee said.

Assistant Cerro Gordo County Attorney Greg Rosenbladt, who represents the
state in Cerro Gordo County juvenile cases, said the county is "a hotbed
for drugs."

Mason City is a conduit for drugs out of Detroit, Chicago, Minneapolis and
Milwaukee, he said.

"The average citizen is not aware of what goes on, and it's significant."