Children—the Casualties of Drug Abuse
Cuddling with your children, watching them take their first steps, guiding them through life are the beautiful and cherished responsibilities of a loving parent. Holding a newborn in one’s arms is a glorious feeling. Sadly, the drug crisis in America is stripping many children from their mothers and fathers, because the parents, in their drug-addicted state, are unable to take care of themselves, let alone their children. These youngsters are inevitably put into the foster care system when there is room.
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine said, “We think about 50% of the kids who are in foster care in Ohio are there because one or both parents are in fact drug addicts.” That’s a lot of kids when you consider that 14,000 children are in the Ohio system alone.
Clearly, Ohio isn’t the only state affected—across the country the drug epidemic continues to ravage American families. Natalie Robbins, an Oregon mother remembers looking up at the ceiling of her birthing room as her daughter was born two months early. The baby was in shock, fighting for her young life. Natalie had been addicted to methamphetamines and alcohol. She had three kids and could barely take care of them. She wondered how she could handle another.
“I just killed this child because of my drug addiction,” Natalie confided that she thought as she watched her baby struggle for life. It was a sobering moment for the young mother. Happily, her story ended well, as she was able to get clean. She found a way to avoid the foster system and keep her four children. Her love of her babies was stronger than the addiction.
Unfortunately, most parents consumed by opioids and other drugs don’t face the same happy ending. According to the Department of Human Services, there has been a 398% increase in the last five years for children entering the child welfare system in Douglas County, Oregon. These increases in numbers are devastating. There are too many children flooding into the system, sometimes with nowhere to go. The Department of Human Services admits to putting up kids in hotel rooms or even allowing them to stay in their offices when things get desperate. They are in crisis.
In Knoxville County Juvenile Court, Judge Time Irwin laments needing to move families through his court system faster than ever. “Those cases used to take several hours in court. Now they take a matter of minutes,” he confided. His court docket has become packed with parents addicted to one drug or another. He’s forced to just look at the medical records and make a ruling quickly.
“It’s a terrible thing that we do here on a weekly basis. But you can’t trust active opiate addicts to be parents. They’ll put their addiction first every time.” He went on to say it is incredibly sad to take a child from their mother, and more often than not, that same mother will be in front of him again down the road, with another child. It is an endless cycle.
The only real solution is to educate people on the dangers of drug addiction, helping them to steer clear of them. And if that fails and they fall into the trap of addiction, get them help. If you or someone you know has a problem with drugs or alcohol, there is no time to waste. Time is an enemy—they need help immediately. A parent who is addicted, does not need to choose drug addiction over their children. There is hope, and there is an answer.
References:
- https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2018/01/31/the-foster-care-system-was-unprepared-for-the-last-drug-epidemic-lets-not-repeat-history/
- https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ohio-foster-care-system-flooded-with-children-opioid-epidemic/
- https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/oregon/articles/2017-08-12/foster-care-rates-rise-amid-drug-addiction
- https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/investigations/2016/11/26/nas-loss-parental-rights/94231538/
®