Pubdate: Sat, 26 Aug 2006
Source: Journal Standard, The (Freeport, IL)
Copyright: 2006 The Journal Standard
Contact: http://www.journalstandard.com/forms/letters/
Website: http://www.journalstandard.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3182
Author: Diana Roemer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

COCAINE ABUSE HAS LINGERING EFFECTS

FREEPORT - Cocaine arrests are increasing in Stephenson County, and 
officials say children who are raised in drug environments are 
oftentimes caught up in a cycle of dysfunction that creates serious 
developmental and socialization problems.

Local police said that when they make a crack cocaine arrest and find 
children in the home, the solution can be to place children with 
relatives or reliable friends, seen by officials as better 
alternatives to placing them with strangers.

"The Department of Children and Family Services agrees and always 
prefers such a placement in all cases where they are forced to remove 
children from a home under any circumstances," Assistant Chief of 
Police Robert Smith said.

Smith said it is not uncommon for children to be present during the 
execution of a search warrant. Department officers are trained to 
interact with children after the house and occupants are secure in 
order to minimize the emotional impact and to allay any lingering 
fear of the police, he said.

Calling DCFS is avoided unless there is evidence of physical abuse or 
neglect, or if all of the adults in the home are placed under arrest.

"One could argue that raising children in an environment where 
criminal activity is a daily occurrence is tantamount to child abuse, 
but I don't know that the state has the luxury of this point of 
view," Smith said.

Intervention

Darcy Bielema, a Naperville attorney who specializes in placing 
abused children with new families through adoptions, said she sees 
the results of raising children in environments where drugs are 
present. Oftentimes, they have to be placed with new families over 
and over again because they're out of control and too hard to handle.

She argues for quicker intervention.

"When parents are doing drugs, crack or meth or whatever, they are 
not good parents. Kids stay there too long and they either get hurt 
physically or they get let go too long in their schooling," she said. 
"We need to identify those kids in a coactive way - not let them get 
behind in school and not have them be labeled."

DCFS representatives said they cannot by law intervene unless the 
child is being abused or neglected, and unless they are called. 
Kendall Marlowe, acting deputy director of communications for DCFS, 
said the number of indicated substance-abuse investigations DCFS has 
conducted in Stephenson County are low: only three in 2006, two in 
2005 and one in 2004.

"But we take all calls," Marlowe said. "We will never turn down a 
call or information we receive, but by law, it has to rise to a 
certain level to constitute abuse or neglect."

Crack babies

The problems are worse for children whose mothers were smoking crack 
while pregnant, according to Ira Chasnoff, a Chicago pediatrician, 
professor and author on the subject. A wide range of physical and 
behavioral problems are seen with these children, including poor 
growth, significant eating and sleeping problems, hyperirritability, 
and hyper-sensitivity to touch, movement and eye contact.

"By school age, prenatally exposed children have high rates of 
off-task behavior, distractibility, short attention span, impulsive 
behavior, and aggressive behavior," Chasnoff said.

But Dr. Michael Perry, CEO of FHN, said the local health network 
rarely, if ever, sees a child brought in who has been impacted by a 
mother's use of crack. However, the emergency room staff sees an 
increasing number of adults for crack-related medical issues, he said.

Not doing enough?

Bielema said one problem is in how state money is spent at DCFS.

"They put too much money in administrative things," she said. "And 
they've cut back on their training for foster parents. Foster parents 
don't know how to deal with these children."

One Freeport resident said ridding Freeport of crack can't happen 
fast enough, especially for the children. The woman, who spoke on the 
condition of anonymity because of safety concerns, said she lives in 
a "crack-infested neighborhood that is filled with children." She 
said she has approached the mayor and police numerous times about 
what she sees and has tried to clean up her neighborhood by fingering 
crack users.

"There's lots of children here," she said. "They are just so innocent."

Bielema suggested there is hope - if the cycle of drug habits between 
parents and their children can be broken.

"Kids have the ability to live positive lives if we get them in good 
homes," she said. "But when kids age-out, we're seeing kids third 
generation, fourth generation, as drug addicts. That's scary. Somehow 
we missed the boat when the kid was in state custody or in the home 
of his parents."
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman