Pubdate: Mon, 03 Dec 2007 Source: St. Petersburg Times (FL) Copyright: 2007 St. Petersburg Times Contact: http://www.sptimes.com/letters/ Website: http://www.sptimes.com/home.shtml Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/419 Author: Bill Varian, Times Staff Writer Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) DRUG ABUSE PROGRAMS GET $2.5M A Federal Grant Means Help For Parents Who Are Hooked On Meth. Liliana Escalante began taking methamphetamine at age 13 to take her mind off problems at home. It wasn't long before the desire to ease her pain landed her in the court system. Today, Escalante, 18, is clean and looking for a new job so she can provide for her healthy 3-month-old daughter, thanks to court-ordered drug abuse treatment. She credits her recovery with "knowing someone was there for me and that I wasn't alone." Several Hillsborough agencies are hoping to create more stories like Escalante's. Together, they have secured a five-year, $2.5-million grant to beef up treatment programs and coordinate help for addicts, especially parents who are hooked on meth. The Hillsborough County Children's Board has agreed to contribute another $88,000 annually. The goal: To get parents cleaned up so they may be reunited with children who may have been taken away because of abuse or neglect caused by the parents' drug use. "We are going to help put these families back together," said County Administrator Pat Bean during a news conference Friday attended by representatives of the court system, law enforcement, child welfare workers and social service agencies - participants in the Children's Reunification Services Collaborative. Hillsborough County was one of just two dozen communities across the nation to get the grants. Those at the news conference credited the collaborative nature of the effort. Officials with Hillsborough Kids Inc., the nonprofit charged with coordinating assistance and housing for abused children in the county, estimates that 70 percent of its cases have substance abuse at their root. Cheap, highly addictive methamphetamine is growing as a drug of choice. While programs are in place to help users of meth and other drugs, those involved in the system say there simply haven't been enough resources to fight the scourge effectively. The money will be used to create additional slots for inpatient and outpatient treatment, additional drug screening and training for workers. Addicts will have access to someone who can help them navigate the treatment and hurdles they need to overcome in order to be reunited with their children. "This is a godsend," said Mary Lynn Ulrey of the Drug Abuse Comprehensive Coordinating Office, one of the participants in the collaborative. "I can't tell you how helpful it's going to be to get people in the right space and with the right level of treatment." - --- MAP posted-by: Steve Heath