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NATIONAL METHAMPHETAMINE TRAINING & TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE CENTER
Recovery / Treatment
Recovery / Treatment
"Meth Inside Out"
(from UCLA Intigrated Substance Abuse Program)
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RESOURCES
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Q: Can we find help for children in a meth household?
A: There are actually several ways treatment professionals and others can assist meth-plagued families with children or expecting children.
Removing children from danger
Ironically, sometimes the process of making families whole again has to start with the children being removed from the home. Children in meth houses are frequent victims of abuse, neglect and -- in the cases of home with meth labs in them -- serious health problems.
Several states have passed legislation protecting children found in dangerous enviorments and the federal government funds drug-endangered children programs across the country as well.
Basically, drug endangered children laws mandate a series of steps be taken to remove a child from a dangerous situation. Law enforcement, child protective services and medical personnal all are involved.
Aiding the unborn
Nowhere does drug treatment make a bigger impact on lives and budgets than getting pregnant women off methamphetamine.
Babies born to meth-addicted women have recently been shown to suffer brain damage and have long been known to be suseptable to:
- Low birth weight.
- Cleft palates.
- Premature birth.
- Mental and physical disabilities.
- Increased chances of miscarriage
- Learning disabilities or slow physical development
Babies born addicted to meth very often require specialized medical attention that can cost $1,500 per day or more. Studies suggest that the if a meth-addicted mother gets off the drug early in her pregnancy, as much as $1million in long-term care and subsequent problems can be saved.
Reuniting families
Family drug court, an offshoot of of the programs discussed earlier, has been helping reunite families for more than two decades. When children are removed from a meth household, parents can get them back if they can complete a prescribed treatment program.
Among family drug court graduates in some programs, fewer than 10% of children have to be removed due to relapse. In most family drug court situations, the number of graduates far outnumbers those who do not complete the program.