Model Policy

Clandestine drug labs are a significant problem in Washington State.  Many illegal labs operate within residential homes and children living in these homes are at particular risk.  To respond 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.

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, continuum of care and site remediation.  These latter responsibilities are recognized as integral components, implemented after the child’s immediate needs have been addressed.  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. (To read the plan, go to http://www.doh.wa.gov/ehp/ts/CDL/we-care.pdf)