06/29/2008

Associated Press

How much does methamphetamine cost? An Eastern Oregon prosecutor quotes two children neglected by a mother who used meth heavily.

"My family is falling apart," wrote 12-year-old Travis after his mother was arrested. "It's all about her and my dad. I have to cook Top Ramen for me and my little sister."

"It's kinda sad she didn't take care of me," the 6-year-old sister wrote.

Simonne Weyand, Umatilla County deputy district attorney, cited the two children last week at 2008 Neglect Summit.

Police officers, social workers, substance abuse counselors and others talked about the effects of neglect on children and how agencies, law enforcement and other community partners can team up to make it go away.

In 2006, the latest figures available, the Oregon Department of Human Services reported 12,043 victims of suspected child abuse — a 7 percent rise from 2005.

Umatilla County, designated as a high drug trafficking area, has learned how to be innovative in finding solutions, said Katherine Cahn, director of the Center for Improvement of Child and Family Services.

She cited Umatilla County's Drug Court, a relief nursery for parents who are going "to break," Head Start's therapeutic classrooms and the Department of Human Service's parent mentor program.

"That's part of why we picked this county in which to have this conversation," she said. "I see such strengths here."

Besides drugs, Cahn said, alcohol, unemployment, domestic violence, inadequate housing and poverty lead some parents to neglect their children.

"These families are deeply poor," she said. "They are often very depressed."

The depression sometimes leads to neglect of children.

"They're getting propped up in front of the TV with Kool-Aid in their bottles," she said. "There's no intellectual stimulation. They smell bad, look bad — nothing goes right for them."

"The good news is that the brain is very plastic," Cahn said. "Children are very resilient."

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Information from: East Oregonian, http://www.eastoregonian.info