NCJ Number
173605
Journal
Law Enforcement Quarterly Volume: 27 Issue: 1 Dated: Spring/Summer 1998 Pages: 20-23
Date Published
1998
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article describes the background and operations of San Diego County's Drug Endangered Children program (DEC), which focuses on providing appropriate services and case management for children who have lived in houses where methamphetamine has been manufactured.
Abstract
Recognizing there had to be a better way to handle cases that involve child victims of meth labs, the San Diego County District Attorney's Office, working with local law enforcement, competed for and won a $250,000, 3-year grant designed to change the system. The DEC program was begun in January 1998. In addition to fostering greater cooperation and coordination between social services and law enforcement personnel, the program will, for the first time, study and document the environmental hazards that children are exposed to in these "kitchens of death." Protocols and testing of children will be established and documented by health care workers from Polinsky and Children's Hospital. Prosecutors will then be able to use this information to add child endangerment charges and new penalty enhancements that target meth manufacturers. The grant is based on a team concept that uses the skills, knowledge, and experience of individuals from law enforcement, social services, health services, and the District Attorney's Office. In dealing with a meth lab case, the social worker is available to respond to the scene and transport exposed children to Polinsky Center or Children's Hospital, depending on the assessment. Once a child is identified as exposed to methamphetamine and the toxins associated with its production, the child's safety and health will be of utmost importance, and the child's progress will be formally tracked.