Kids Left Behind in the Drug Crisis

Ned Breslin
Aug 9, 2017 · 5 min read

The opioid epidemic sadly shows no signs of stalling.

Drug overdoses in the United States have soared over the past quarter, according to new government data, and a recent recalculation of opioid death rates for 2014 suggests that they were actually 24% higher than originally projected. The study also suggests that heroin overdoses were 22% higher in 2014 than originally estimated.

Additionally, the opioid epidemic is creating labor shortages in some sectors, as perhaps best reported in this piece at The Weekly Standard. Moreover, the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis’ preliminary report suggests that the President should declare a national State of Emergency to combat this crisis.

Recommendations, especially from the President’s Commission led by Governor Chris Christie, have understandably focused on a wide range of interventions to help those who are addicted. The recommendations suggested the need for improved data sharing across state lines to enable doctors to better understand patient histories, the re-education of doctors on how to help people in pain heal without relying on heavy doses of addictive medications, and better screening of packages to stem the flow of drugs into the US.

It’s a challenging problem to address at this scale because it demands swift action to help adults in need while also tackling the society-wide over-medication of adults in pain.

However, the silence about children effected by this crisis is deafening.

Children are mentioned in a short bullet on page 9 of the 10-page President’s Commission report, but not compellingly, and rare is an article on what happens to kids when their family disintegrates under the weight of drugs.

Children are at the coalface of this crisis, and their long-term wellbeing is hardly assured. The flood of children into the child welfare system is intense and putting considerable strain on state and county child welfare agencies as well as the service providers that are dedicated to helping kids heal and reintegrate into safe families, schools, and communities.

Denver alone has seen a 70% increase in the number of investigations of reported abuse and neglect, with a staggering 81% increase in the number of children removed from unsafe homes since 2015.

The primary driver of this is the escalating drug epidemic, which includes opioids, crystal meth, and alcohol (which few want to discuss). Increasing numbers of kids entering the child welfare system is a common theme throughout the US, and is occurring at a time when foster placements and adoption are both declining.

We see the impact of this broader drug epidemic every day at the Tennyson Center for Children, as do many of our brother and sister agencies — especially those on the front line trying to help kids stabilize and heal from the trauma they have experienced as a result of being in homes that are centered on drugs over all else.

Too many kids come into the child protective community experiencing trauma from physical, emotional and sexual abuse, often coupled with extreme neglect (kids have shown up at Tennyson 30 pounds underweight as drugs took precedent over food for children). We help kids wrestle with the challenges they have faced that have left them traumatized with deep and legitimate feelings of worthlessness and abandonment.

We support parents and hope they will find their way, and we work with so many kids who are deeply conflicted with their emotions — wanting to go home and be loved while also unsure how long it will take for the drugs to flow again. We help kids as young as 5-years-old who may never see their parents again (due to their death or otherwise) and who have shrinking opportunities to be in safe families.

If we are to be honest, the current drug epidemic is simply a continuation of a long history of drug overuse that has profound impacts on children. This current crisis is spiking for sure, but we are also seeing the impact of generations of children (now adults) whose potential was undermined by addicted parents.

Country singer Jimmy Wayne’s Walk to Beautiful speaks powerfully to the horror of growing up in a home driven by addictions, and offers hope to those in “the system” by showing pathways to success.

My personal journey is one of trying to survive in a home with a pedophile alcoholic father and a mother who used alcohol, and then prescription drugs, to enable her to turn away and act like nothing was wrong.

I meet successful adults whose journey took them through Tennyson because of addicted parents, and I know that there are millions — literally millions — of American adults whose childhoods were undermined by families undermined by drug abuse. We need to treat parents, help them heal, and broaden the conversation in America about this crisis.

If the President’s Commission wants to have real impact it should consider ways to support children whose exposure to the drug epidemic has set them on an alternative course.

We need to think long-term here as most efforts focused on kids look for ways to short-circuit healing that rarely works.

A 6-year old girl who comes to Tennyson because her family disintegrated needs care, counseling, and considerable support which we and others like us proudly and effectively provide. That said, we know that the work we do does not magically and permanently “heal” that girl. She is most likely to need further support as her life evolves, as she grows, and especially if her reintegration into new families is not sustained — as is often the case (kids at Tennyson come to us after between 5–15 placements; permanency is elusive).

The President’s Commission has a real opportunity to lay out concrete recommendations for kids caught up in this crisis.

Long-term, thoughtful support can actually be less costly if done creatively, linked to measurable outcomes, and infused with an understanding that kids effected by this crisis are likely to need different levels of support over time if they are to truly emerge from their trauma.

It will not happen, however, if children are afterthoughts. Kids undermined by this crisis should not be a random bullet point placed at the end of the President’s Commission report; they should be the starting point for all who are concerned about the future of our country.

Ned Breslin

Written by

CEO at the Tennyson Center for Children, relentlessly focused on helping children heal from trauma and thrive in society. Track Ned @NedBreslin on twitter

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