(12 Dec 2017) ACROSS THE U.S., SOARING USE OF OPIOIDS HAS FORCED TENS OF THOUSANDS OF CHILDREN FROM THEIR HOMES, CREATING A GENERATION OF KIDS ABANDONED BY ADDICTED PARENTS.
NAT SOUND UP OF A MOTHER TALKING WITH HER ADOPTED SON
SOUNDBITE: (English) Tiffany Eggers, adopted foster child:
"When I got him at four months, he reeked of some sort of substance. It literally took a week to get this horrible smell out of his hair, out his saliva, out his feces, out of his urine."
TODAY, ELI IS A HEALTHY LITTLE BOY, THE EGGERS FAMILY ADOPTED HIM BUT WILL NEVER FORGET THE DIFFICULT PROCESS.
SOUNDBITE: (English) Tiffany Eggers, adopted foster child:
"He was just very colicky, he would scream but now I look back on it I realize he was just traumatized"
THOUGH SUBSTANCE ABUSE HAS LONG BEEN AN ISSUE FOR CHILD WELFARE OFFICIALS, THIS IS THE MOST PROLIFIC WAVE OF CHILDREN AFFECTED BY ADDICTION SINCE CRACK COCAINE USE SURGED IN THE 1980S.
SOUNDBITE: (English) Shawnee Wilson, Mother:
"He was born on methadone, they sent him home and he went into severe withdrawal."
SHAWNEE WILSON GREW UP WITH ADDICTS AND WAS 13 WHEN CHILD WELFARE OFFICIALS REMOVED HER FROM HER HOME.
NOW, AT 26, SHE'S TRYING TO BEAT HEROIN, HAVING ALREADY LOST CUSTODY OF TWO CHILDREN AND GIVEN ANOTHER UP AT BIRTH.
HER FOURTH CHILD, KINGSTON, WAS BORN JUST OVER A YEAR AGO, AND IT TOOK A MONTH FOR DOCTORS TO WEAN HIM OFF THE HEROIN
WILSON EXPOSED HIM TO. HE IS IN FOSTER CARE NOW IN INDIANAPOLIS, AND WILSON IS FIGHTING TO GET HIM BACK.
SOUNDBITE: (English) Shawnee Wilson, Mother:
"It's hard, it was harder at first as I was still struggling with addiction, but, now it's making me stronger for when he comes home."
NEW FOSTER CARE CASES INVOLVING PARENTS WHO ARE USING DRUGS HAVE HIT THE HIGHEST POINT IN MORE THAN THREE DECADE OF RECORD-KEEPING, ACCOUNTING FOR 92,000 CHILDREN ENTERING THE SYSTEM LAST YEAR.
THE CRISIS IS SO SEVERE -- WITH A 32 PERCENT SPIKE IN DRUG-RELATED CASES FROM 2012 TO 2016
SOUNDBITE: (English) Dr. Tara Benjamin / Riley Children's Health
"When I came to Indiana I was floored at what I saw here"
DR. TARA BENJAMIN IS A MATERNAL FETAL MEDICINE SPECIALIST.
SHE TREATS WOMEN WITH HIGH-RISK PREGNANCIES.
SOUNDBITE: (English) Dr. Tara Benjamin / Riley Children's Health
"When I walked in to the labor and delivery unit they had a list of patients with the title, do not prescribe, and it meant if these women called they are probably seeking so do not prescribe, I had never heard of that in life. To me that was an indicator of how bad this epidemic was here."
IN INDIANA, DRUG-RELATED FOSTER CASES SHOT UP MORE THAN SIX-FOLD BETWEEN 2000 AND 2015.
SOUNDBITE: (English) Judge Marilyn Moores, Marion County Juvenile Court:
"I read the report and I just burst out crying.."
JUDGE MARILYN MOORES HAS BEEN ON THE FRONT LINES OF HELPING CHILDREN AFFECTED BY THE HORRORS OF THEIR PARENTS' ADDICTION.
HER BURDEN IS MAKING THE RIGHT DECISION FOR FAMILIES ACCORDING TO THE LAW - AND HER HEART.
SOUNDBITE: (English) Judge Marilyn Moores, Marion County Juvenile Court:
"We had a two-year-old that was found in a home, a neighbor heard him screaming, and thank God the door was unlocked and the neighbor went over and found the two-year-old in the home. The Dad was dead of a heroin overdose with a needle in his arm and no one knew how long the two-year-old had been alone on the home."
ROBERT RAY, ASSOCIATED PRESS
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