Pubdate: Sun, 27 Mar 2005
Source: Sentinel And Enterprise, The (MA)
Copyright: 2005 MediaNews Group, Inc. and Mid-States Newspapers, Inc.
Contact:  http://sentinelandenterprise.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2498
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?225 (Students - United States)

CHILDREN MUST BE SHIELDED FROM DRUGS

Elizabeth Rice, a counselor at B.F. Brown Middle School in Fitchburg, said 
she has seen an increase of kids reporting substance abuse at home in 
recent years, a trend she attributes to staff members who have learned how 
to listen to kids.

"There is enormous trust here," she said.

While it's encouraging that more children feel comfortable enough to report 
substance, it's also alarming there's so much to report.

Rice also said absenteeism is the first "red flag" that there could be 
trouble at home, concerning parents who abuse drugs and/or alcohol.

"We tend to find with kids whose parents are substance users that they . 
stay home to look after parents," said Rice, who has worked in the 
Fitchburg school district for 13 years. "Sometimes kids will have 
depression or anxiety, or behavior difficulties."

Children are the truly innocent victims of illegal drug use and 
trafficking, as numerous people told the Sentinel & Enterprise in today's 
installment of our special 10-part report, "Decades of Addiction-Drugs in 
North Central Mass."

The stories of abuse and neglect in today's paper are truly heartbreaking.

Children growing up in a home where a parent is abusing or selling drugs 
can suffer a host of emotional and psychiatric problems that could haunt 
them their entire lives, according to a series of interviews conducted by 
the Sentinel & Enterprise.

More than 6 million children lived with at least one parent who abused 
drugs or alcohol in 2001, according to the National Household Survey on 
Drug Abuse.

School teachers and counselors, along with state social services officials, 
try to protect kids from harm, and they are often the first to notice when 
things aren't right at home.

Cindy LeBlanc has been a school counselor in the Leominster schools for 20 
years, and she has spent much of that time working with elementary-school 
children.

She said she's "amazed" at the extent of child neglect in every community.

"It's a sad thing," said LeBlanc, who works at Northwest Elementary School.

"You see children a lot who are raised by other family members, mostly 
grandmothers. They have a real longing for that (absent) parent, and a 
sadness."

There are no easy answers to this terrible problem, but we all can help by 
immediately reporting parents who are abusing drugs to either school 
officials or police.

Often, without someone else stepping in, these children and their parents 
won't get the help they desperately need.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom