COPS FOCUS ON KIDS

In 1997, the Iowa Department of Narcotics Enforcement seized 63
methamphetamine labs in the state, according to Lee Leighter, state
special narcotics agent.

In 2003, the number grew to 662.

"This problem is getting worse and worse," Leighter said. "It's not
getting better. If we don't do something for (children) now, we're
going to end up dealing with them later" -- as drug users.

A state narcotics agent since 1999, Leighter said that within the past
week, he served a warrant on a rural residence where a 9-month-old
infant lives.

This little boy is living in a meth lab," Leighter said.

Both parents are addicts, he said.

In the basement, investigators found two gallons of anhydrous ammonia.
Guns, drugs and drug paraphernalia were found on the main floor of the
residence.

The baby was placed in temporary foster care.

When agents find endangered, abused or neglected children on a drug
raid, the investigators "hook up" with the Department of Human
Services (DHS), legal and medical professionals "to do what is best
for the kids," Leighter said.

With good intervention, there is a chance children can be reunited
with their parents.

Mason City Police Chief David Ellingson said Iowa police chiefs and
sheriffs have been trained "to make sure we were aware how meth
chemicals in the home impact family members."

The chemicals are transmitted to clothing, household utensils and in
the air, he said.

Mason City Police Lt. Ron Vande Weerd said that, although the
department has no statistics on it, officers encounter children
exposed to methamphetamine "quite frequently."

He cited an example of an adult male smoking methamphetamine in the
presence of an infant. When the infant began crying, the man "shook it
and shook it," Vande Weerd said.

"Who knows if there's going to be any long-term disabilities?" he said.

Another adult male was found cooking meth in a small apartment in the
same room where an infant was lying.

Methamphetamine labs may be operated in the garage of a home, if not
in the residence itself, Vande Weerd said. Even if the lab is
outdoors, "we may find drug paraphernalia lying out in plain view" in
the home.