Program Design
Clandestine drug labs are a significant problem in Washington State. The Department of Ecology responded to approximately 350 drug lab incidents in 1998 compared to nearly 1,500 in 2003. Currently, Washington ranks sixth in the United States in the number of illegal methamphetamine labs identified by law enforcement. Since a considerable number of illegal labs operate within residential homes, children living in these residences are at particular risk.
In response to this problem, the Governor’s Methamphetamine Coordinating Committee appointed a Drug Endangered Children’s (DEC) subcommittee to examine existing national and local DEC programs, research pertinent legal issues, and identify best practices that address the children’s needs. The subcommittee’s work resulted in the development of the We Care Plan—Washington State’s recommended best practices addressing the needs of Drug Endangered Children.
The Plan is applicable to situations in which there is reason to believe that abuse and neglect of a child has occurred through exposure to controlled substances, or to chemicals and processes involved in manufacturing illegal drugs.
For a successful DEC program, three fundamental elements were identified:
- Collaboration amongst law enforcement (LE), Child Protective Services (CPS), medical facilities, and prosecutors.
- On-scene response by CPS or their designee
- Collection of urine samples from children within four hours of assuming custody.
The Plan includes six elements:
- Agency Response Matrix
- Law Enforcement Procedures
- Child Protective Services Procedures
- Medical Procedures
- Prosecutor Procedures
- Applicable Laws
The We Care Plan is intended to address the immediate needs of the drug-endangered child and does not detail the responsibilities of drug courts, treatment services, and continuum of care. These latter responsibilities are recognized as integral components, implemented after the child’s immediate needs have been addressed. Documentation of successful approaches and guidance from prosecutors and social service agencies on these responsibilities would be useful for county DEC programs and teams.
The We Care Plan is offered as a tool to assist counties in responding to the needs of drug-endangered children. It was developed with the understanding that each county is unique and that specific regional needs and available resources will influence the type of response implemented.
Successful DEC programs already exist in some Washington counties. The We Care Plan is intended to facilitate the development of new DEC programs and complement existing ones.
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