POLICE, SOCIAL WORKERS SAY METH LABS POSE GREAT RISK TO CHILDREN

When the Metro Drug Unit busts a methamphetamine lab in a home, one
thing they always do is go through the kitchen.

They're looking for materials used to cook the drug, but the officers
also want to determine whether there's any food in the house. They
rarely find any.

Lt. Steve Neddo, the drug unit's commander, said that during a recent
bust on Swinburn Street on Charleston's West Side, officers didn't
find any food. The three children who lived there -- ages 1, 5 and 6
- -- had eaten only once that day.

"They split a small hamburger," Neddo recalled. The children's parents
had attempted to expand the meal by adding ketchup.

Methamphetamine labs have caused public alarm in recent years because
of highly publicized fires that often erupt, but experts say the
dangers the drug labs present to children deserve increased attention.

Officials who deal with the problem say neglect and dangerous
conditions make children the victims of meth labs.

In 2004, the drug unit busted 105 labs. Seventy were in Kanawha
County, and 35 were in Putnam County. So far in 2005 area police
already have taken down three, Neddo said.

He doesn't have specific numbers on how many times children were in a
home where a lab was discovered, but Neddo said the situation is common.

Methamphetamine is a drug made by extracting pseudoephedrine, the
active ingredient in some cold medicine. The process of turning
over-the-counter cold medicine into an illegal drug is a volatile,
combustible process. The fumes are toxic, and a batch can explode into
a torrent of fire in seconds.

A meth operation gone wrong can destroy a building in minutes, but
many experts think the darkest side of the problem is the way it
affects children of addicts and cooks.

A meth addict -- or tweaker -- isn't much of a parent, Neddo said. The
drug causes extreme hyperactivity and paranoia. A meth operation is
explosive, and if a meth user is trying to perform an already unstable
chemical process, there is potential for a bad result.

Neddo said some cooks at least try to move their lab to an
out-of-the-way section of the house, while others will set it up in
front of the television on the living room floor.

"Look at all the health hazards. We're going in there with suits and
breathing tanks. These kids don't have that shot. Who knows about the
long-lasting health effects?" he said.

Dealing with children who have been living in a home where police bust
a meth lab presents social service workers with some tough challenges,
said Anita Adkins, the community services manager with the Kanawha
County office of the Division of Health and Human Resources.

On one hand, they know if a meth lab is operating in a home, it's a
danger to the children and everyone else who lives there. But experts
often believe children and parents should be together and the state
should remove children from a home only in the most dire situations.

If police bust a lab and children are in the home, Adkins said a
caseworker will try to find a relative or responsible friend who can
take the child or children on a temporary basis.

Removing children from a home is a last option, but Adkins said if
caseworkers spot or smells a lab, they can file a court petition to
take immediate custody.

If they are tipped that a lab is operating but go to the house and
nothing seems amiss, then they can't do anything.

If there are signs of drug activity but nothing is present when they
are there, Adkins said their best option is to develop a safety plan
for the parent.

The plan generally dictates that the parent will agree to avoid using
or making drugs in the home.

If the addiction is too strong, the parent will agree to send the
children to a more stable relative or friend.

Caseworkers have very strict rules about how to deal with situations
like these, but Adkins said if they see a lab or think the child is in
immediate danger, they will notify police.

"We'll call police and we'll wait. If it's harmful to us, it's harmful
to the children," she said.

If they can't locate a responsible member of the family, the children
will be removed and put into foster care. Then it's up to the courts
to decide whether or not the parents can have their children back.

The state does not keep statistics on the number of children removed
from homes because of a lab, but Adkins classified the problem as "terrible."

Her office has been dealing with drug-addled parents for years, but
she said meth cooks present a unique challenge because the cooking
process is so volatile.

There is no specific law against having children around a meth lab,
but Neddo said the Legislature is considering a bill that would make
it a separate offense.

"Some people say meth is a victimless crime, but you can't look at
these kids and tell me they're not a victim," he said.

On a national level, The Office of the National Drug Control Policy
has instituted the Drug Endangered Children program to help children
whose parents or guardians manufacture drugs.

The program is designed to bring police and child welfare workers
together to establish a system where children found at a meth lab
receive immediate medical attention and are given a safe place to stay.

According to numbers provided by the drug policy office, in 2002 more
than 3,000 children nationwide were affected during seizures of more
than 15,000 meth labs. Of the 3,000 children, officials estimate that
1,300 were exposed to toxic chemicals during the cooking process.

Scott Burns, a deputy director for the control policy office, said the
drug's harmful effects are two-fold.

A child is not only endangered physically, but the homes of people
cooking meth aren't usually stable places.

"Parents will go on a meth binge for three days, then crash for 48
hours, and during that time no one is watching the kids," he said.

The Drug Endangered Children program has not been started in West
Virginia, but Burns said the goal is to have programs in all 50 states.