KIDS WILL BENEFIT FROM COUNTY'S METHOD OF ATTACK ON METH

Cheap, highly addictive drugs such as methamphetamine and crack
cocaine cripple families. In Robeson County, the casualties can be
counted in child-welfare cases and on foster-care rolls.

Drugs fuel child abuse and neglect there. According to the state
Division of Social Services, there is a disproportionately high number
of drug-related child-welfare cases in the county.

A two-year-old state law that limits access to the raw ingredients for
methamphetamine is slowly reducing the use of that drug across the
state, according to law enforcement agencies. But the state's emphasis
on imprisonment and law enforcement over social services and health
care has done little to keep families together.

The effect of drug use on children is a global problem. Robeson County
can't knock it out alone. Still, it's possible for the county to
reduce the collateral damage to families, especially now that the
state and federal governments are helping.

Earlier this week, the state Division of Social Services awarded the
county a $2.5 million federal grant to help restore families shattered
by methamphetamine and other substance abuse issues. The Substance
Abuse Competitive Grant is from the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services' Administration for Children and Families, as part of
the Promoting Safe and Stable Families initiative.

The grant is worth $500,000 a year for five years and will fund a
pilot program that treats parents' or caregivers' addictions with
minimal disruption to families.

Robeson County Bridge for Families will provide every thing from
inpatient treatment to transitional housing and outpatient services.
The county also will use the grant money to pay for therapy for
children. Local judicial agencies will establish a special Family Drug
Treatment Court to support parents or caregivers in recovery while
keeping their families intact. In time officials hope to see an
increase in families getting help for addictions; a decrease in
offenses against children; a reduction in the number of children in
foster care and improved familial bonds. Drug use contributes to
spiraling social ills all over the state. But in Robeson County, the
combination of drugs, poverty and limited resources leaves the most
vulnerable families with limited options. The state division deserves
much praise for funneling the first stream of federal money to an area
that needs intervention desperately.