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Drug Endangered Children (DEC)

In Wyandotte County, law enforcement officers, fire fighters, social workers, child advocates, medical professionals, and prosecutors are becoming increasingly aware of the serious risks faced by children who are present at methamphetamine laboratories.

The DEC program is a model by which many agencies can learn how to best address the legal, medical, and social issues associated with children present at methamphetamine laboratories and other hazardous drug production and abuse environments.

The Task Force is currently developing protocol to bring together agencies in a cooperative effort to remove children from homes where methamphetamine is produced and to safeguard the children from further abuse and neglect.

For a presentation or more information on this project, contact Meredith Schraeder 913.288.7685.

Parents who use meth often exhibit: · Extreme mood fluctuations · Violent behavior · Depression · Poor impulse control · Bizarre behaviors · Lack of attention to hygiene · Acute psychotic episodes · Poly-drug abuse As meth use continues, the parent is unable to provide basic needs to the child.
Due to changes in brain chemistry, the parent loses the capacity to care about anything but meth.
If a pregnant woman uses meth, the baby may experience:
· Premature birth
· Growth retardation
· Withdrawal symptoms including abnormal sleep patterns, high pitched cry, poor feeding
· Cerebral injuries
· Limpness
· Apparent depression
· Shaking and tremors
· Irritability
· Fits of rage
· Sensitivity to stimuli including human touch and regular light
· Coordination problems
· Birth defects (6 times more) including effects on the central nervous system, heart and kidneys
· Cerebral palsy and paralysis are common.
The effects of meth last longer than crack and can lead to more damage. Levels of meth present in breast milk are higher than the level in blood.
Sources: Dr. Rizwan Shah, Iowa Child Protection Council; Dr. Michael Sherman, Chief of Neonatology at UC Davis; Dr. Annette Grefe, Yellowstone Pediatric Neurology.
Risks to children include:
· Exposure to explosive, flammable, toxic ingredients stored in kitchen cabinets, bathrooms and bedrooms
· Access to meth and paraphernalia
· Presence of loaded weapons in the home and booby traps (due to paranoia of meth users)
· Physical and sexual abuse
· Exposure to high risk populations (sexual abusers, violent drug users)
· Neglect including poor nutrition, poor living conditions
· Presence of pornograph
y
Children whose parents use or manufacture meth often experience:
· Respiratory problems
· Delayed speech and language skills
· Higher risk for kidney problems and leukemia
· Malnourishment
· Poor school performance/attendance problems
· Isolation
· Physical, sexual and emotional abuse
· Poor dental health
· Hyperactivity and attention disorders
· Lice
· Obesity
· Other developmental problems
· Violent behavior
· Drug usage
· Lack of boundaries/easy attachment to strangers

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The products used to manufacture meth are purchased or stolen every day from businesses in Wyandotte County.

Meth lab closures in Kansas increased from 4 in 1994 to 844 in 2001 - the rate is still on the rise.
Locations where meth is produced are very dangerous because of environmental contamination and the possibilities of explosion. Labs are also very expensive to clean up.

The majority of meth users are employed. Meth use leads to workplace violence, increased absenteeism, higher turnover rates, increased worker's comp claims, and high health insurance rates.
Meth is not only dangerous to the user but also leads to increases in theft and burglaries, domestic violence, auto accidents, neglect and abuse of children, and the spread of diseases.

For a printer-friendly version of the information below brochure.

For a presentation or more information on this project, contact Sgt. Doretha Bighems, 913.288.7685.

Who should become involved?
How can you
get involved?
Signs of a lab may include:
Take action

Retail business employees, managers and owners - those selling products that can be used to produce meth including grocery and convenience stores, auto supply stores, and propane exchange locations.

Neighborhood residents - meth labs have been closed in all areas of Wyandotte County - is there one in your neighborhood?

Realtors, hotel/motel employees and owners, apartment complex managers, landlords, property inspectors and appraisers - anyone who deals with property who could benefit from knowing the signs of a meth lab.

Farmers, farm supply employees and co-op employees - because of the risk of having chemicals stolen by meth producers and farmland contamination by the dumping of chemicals used in meth production.

Youth - whether in schools, church groups or other youth organizations - our youth must learn early about the dangers of meth.

YOU!

Schedule a presentation for your business, organization or neighborhood -- it will be tailored to fit the needs of your group.

Report suspicious activity.

Talk about the meth problem and encourage others to become involved.

Distribute meth educational brochures to your organization.

Encourage local retailers to become knowledgeable about the products used in making meth.

Encourage farmers to use tamper tags to secure their anhydrous ammonia tanks and to use alternate fertilizers.

Attend a workshop to learn more about methamphetamine.

  • Unusual, strong odors
  • Unusual number of chemical containers.
  • Presence of bottle, jars and jugs
  • Windows covered or blacked out
  • People smoking outside.
  • Paranoid or odd behavior
  • Lots of traffic, especially at night
  • Doors ajar for long periods of time.
  • Propane tanks with blue-stained valves.

Common household products that are used to make Meth

  • Over the counter cold tablets or diet drugs
  • Starter fluid
  • Coffee filters
  • Mason jars
  • Lithium batteries
  • Rock salt

Option one

Report the following information to the
KCKPD Narcotic Hotline
913-573-6000
or the TIPS Hotline
816-474-TIPS (8477)

  • Exact street address of the activity location
  • Names of resident(s) or name of landlord if the location is a rental property.
  • Vehicle description and tag number of vehicles belonging to residents of the location.
  • Times of day and dates of observed suspicious activity.

Option Two

If you are not able to obtain this information, or are uncomfortable making the report, contact NCPP's
Meth Info Line
913-573-8793.

They can answer your questions, follow-up on your concerns, collect information and report it to the Police and keep you informed about the investigation.

The Police Department, the TIPS program and NCPP will keep your information confidential.

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Healthy Sprouts: Early Childhood Outdoor Learning Environment

It is an irony of modern life that while technology enables us to learn more about the complexities of nature and our responses to it more easily than ever before, we are all spending more time inside and away from direct interaction with nature.

The Healthy Sprouts project seeks to change that.

Cultivating young minds

Kansas City, Kansas, once offered children thousands of delights of free play. Children had access to the world at large, whether it was the sidewalks, streets, alleys, vacant lots or parks. Children played, explored and interacted with little or no restriction or supervision. Things are different today. Parents and childcare workers are afraid for children’s safety - stray dogs, drug dealers, trash and even violence are all realities.

There are few chances to interact with nature in a natural setting. We can change that. Healthy Sprouts is an interactive outdoor learning environment for children ages 2˝ to 6, in childcare facilities. It will provide that opportunity to learn in a natural environment through exploration, discovery and the power of their own imaginations. Although the “learning” at the garden will occur on many levels, the focus will be on two.

The first is on the garden as an initiation into environmental awareness. Louise Chawla, Associate Professor, Kentucky State University, in an article for Learning Through Gardening stated:

“Gardening is an empathetic connection with the natural world. For children, ‘bonding’ with nature is not associated with hoeing and weeding, but with enthralling exploration and play: feeling sun and shade, outstaring insects and wondering at leaf shapes.”

The second focus is on the garden as a link to school readiness. Plants massed according to color or the first letter of their names, as well as curriculum guiding their garden experiences, will allow them to gain both information and skills for later school success.

The Plan
A. Entry Pavillion
B. Children’s
Bridge
C. Treehouse/Storage
D. Primary Path
E. Frogley Pond
F. Landscape Buffer
G. Specialty Gardens
H. Grassy Rolling Hill
I. Trellis Structure
J. Learning Corner
K. “Dry” Creekbed
L. Lawn Area
M. Raised Gardens

The Possibilities
Potential Gardens (G)
• Texture
• Alphabet
• Water
• Crayon Colors
• Dinosaur
• Storybook
• Butterfly
• Rainbow (ethnic)
• Native Plants/Kansas
• Pizza
• Wizard of Oz

Funders

Environmental Protection Agency
National 4-H
Gould Evans Goodman Architects
Rhodes Surveying
Dickens Demolition
Inland Quarries
Ellen Lenard
E.V. Spadafora

Lead Agencies

• Regional Prevention Center of Wyandotte County
• Child Care Licensing Section
of the Unified Government of KCK/Wyandotte County
Health Department
• Kansas City Kansas Community College
Early Childhood Education
• Kansas City Kansas Public Libraries

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