OFFICIALS: CHILD NEGLECT LINKED TO METHAMPHETAMINE USE

FORT COLLINS - Methamphetamine use in northeastern Colorado counties has
been linked to a slew of neglected children that are tapping social
services, officials say.

"I've seen a lot of drug and alcohol issues, but what we began to see in
1999 was a real increase in child neglect cases that had (methamphetamine
use) really at the core," said Tom Westfall, Yuma County social services
director. "We call it the walk-away drug because people who take it walk
away from their families, their children, their responsibilities.

In Yuma County, 17 children were in foster care between March and October
2000, and 15 were directly related to drug use, Westfall said. Before 1995,
the county averaged about eight children in foster care.

A study conducted by the Colorado State University Cooperative Extension
and the Colorado Department of Local Affairs found that costs related to
methamphetamine use in Yuma, Logan, Morgan, Phillips, Sedgwick and
Washington counties increased by almost $1 million between 1999 and 2001.

Methamphetamine is popular because rural areas have the chemicals necessary
for production, such as fertilizer tanks, and there are numerous
outbuildings on farms that can be converted into labs. People also live far
apart, providing privacy and helping to conceal the strong smell of
production, said CSU researcher Lilias Jarding.

Most rural communities lack the kind of drug treatment facilities and
options available in cities.

Still, officials said aren't worried increased drug production in
northeastern Colorado contributes much to drug use in other parts of the state.

Some rural residents make the drug because it is more difficult to get
other types of drugs, said Larimer County Drug Task Force member Sgt.
Frances Gonzales.