GRANT FUNDS DRUG ENDANGERED CHILDREN PROGRAM

The state has awarded a $173,000 grant to help take care of children
whose parents are arrested for manufacturing drugs, said sheriff's
narcotics Detective James Beebee.

The grant, awarded this year, funds the Drug Endangered Children
Program, which enables a team of medical professionals to respond to
labs where children also live, Beebee said.

"Before the program a lot of kids fell through the cracks because law
enforcement would go to the labs and just take care of the labs,"
Beebee said. "Kids now are getting medical treatment for 18 months
and are better taken care of."

It's very dangerous for children to live in a residence where meth is
made because of the hazardous chemicals used to cook the drug, said
Kay Fangerow, supervising public health nurse for the county
Department of Public Health's Family Support Services.

"It's very serious because the drug agency people wear hazardous
material suits, and these kids crawl around naked on the floors,"
Fangerow said.

She said that exposure to the chemicals can cause developmental
problems as well because parents who cook meth are more prone to being
neglectful of their children.

San Bernardino County has more meth labs per capita than any other
place in the country, according to San Bernardino County sheriff's
statistics.

Last year, out of 424 meth labs in San Bernardino County, there were
children at 150 of them, Beebee said. But because there was no grant
money at the time, Child Protective Services workers and nurses
weren't always available to go to the scene.

However, not everyone is impressed with the grant, which runs out at
the end of the year. This is the second time that the program has been
given wings, and it seems that some corners have been cut, prosecutors
argue.

The program had its first run in 1999 and lasted about 15 months and
only benefited Victorville, Apple Valley and Hesperia, critics said.

But at that time, the District Attorney's Office was also given a
share of the grant, and was able to staff a full-time prosecutor for
these cases, said Victorville Supervising District Attorney Dennis
Christy.

It was important because the deputy district attorney who handled the
cases was given special training on how to prosecute the cases
effectively, Christy said.

"We have investigators and prosecutors handling child neglect cases
and lab cases, but this program brings them both together," he said.
"Traditionally they have been viewed as two distinct expertises, but
these cases require people with experience in both."

The Victorville prosecutor who handled the cases, Richard Golden, said
that he was assigned to handle only those cases involving meth labs
where children were involved and it was a full-time and important job.
He prosecuted about 55 cases in a year.

It was also frustrating, he said.

"The courts are so congested that even though I had the time to try
these cases and push them to the max, there weren't open courtrooms,"
Golden said. "The court would give them (defendants) less (jail) time
than I wanted to because they were complicated, multidefendant cases
that they didn't want to deal with."

Even though the new grant won't fund a full-time prosecutor to the
cases, Golden said he's glad the program is continuing because it at
least pays for a Child Protective Services worker and nurse to go out
to the homes and take care of the children.

"I'm convinced that's it's better to get ... (Child Protective
Services) involved rather than to give the kids to a neighbor or the
first relative who comes along because they will make sure that the
kids don't go to another dangerous environment," Golden said.

This year's grant funds the entire county, and San Bernardino County
is only one of seven counties in the state to receive money for the
program, Beebee said.

Although meth labs have been a big problem in the High Desert for the
past 15 to 20 years, it's now spreading to the urban areas because
meth manufacturers are looking for less conspicuous places to produce
the drug -which emits an easily detectable odor.

"The problem now is that 99 percent of the labs are mom and pop
labs," Beebee said. "They're just cooking enough for themselves and
a few guests because everyone knows how to do it and it's cheaper."

The smaller labs can fit just about anywhere and in any city, and
they're just as dangerous if not more so than those found in remote
locations, he said. There's always the chance of the chemicals leaking
or exploding and causing fires and the more people around the more
deadly it would be, he said.

Beebee said that the program is just scratching the surface of the
problem, but it's a step in the right direction.

"Meth started in San Bernardino County, but it's also the leader in
the (eradication) program," he said.