SOUTH DAKOTA

Helping meth’s children

From creating care packages for children who are removed from meth homes to volunteering to serve as an active voice for children who have been abused and neglected due to meth use, there are many ways Northern Hills residents can help children who are the unwilling victims of meth. According to Deb Hughes, of the Lawrence County Department of Social Services, one of the many ways residents can help child victims of meth is to create care packages that can be given to the children. When children are removed from meth homes, she said, they are not allowed to take any toys, clothes, or other items with them, since those items are often considered contaminated with the drug and therefore, toxic. Care packages, she said, can include items that may help ease the shock of leaving some of these "security blankets" behind, such as toys, clothes, special treats, and other things that can make a child smile. These care packages, she said, can be donated to the Department of Social Services, which will distribute them as they are needed.

Another major way community residents can help children who have been removed from meth homes is by volunteering as a Court Appointed Special Advocate. Northern Hills CASA director Gypsy Petz said these volunteers serve as a voice for a child who is in the court system because of their parents' or caregivers' meth use. Because of the many entities involved during court proceedings, including lawyers, social workers, and others, Petz said many times the CASA volunteer is the only one who can really take the time to get to know the child and determine the best course of action to serve the youth. While lawyers, social workers and other entities may have several cases at once, Petz said CASA usually tries to assign volunteers to only one child at a time, so they can focus specifically on that one case.

"By providing one CASA volunteer per child we're able to focus attention on that child and find out what their needs and wishes are and give them a voice in a situation that they really don't have a voice in. We give them a voice where they clearly need one," Petz said. "Showing them that they can trust an adult is very important as well. Many times adults are in and out of their lives or perhaps they have done things that make them not trust. CASA volunteers are a stable and positive person in their lives."

Because the Adoption and Safe Families Act stipulates that groups like CASA have a year to work with families, it is not uncommon for many of these cases to last that long, Petz said. However, she said sometimes when meth is involved and a child is placed into foster care, volunteers are sometimes needed for more than a year to help find a permanent home that serves the child's best interests.

"Any time we have older kids it is hard to find foster homes that will take children who are over 12 years old just because normal, healthy teenagers are hard to deal with and if they have come from a spot where they aren't the healthiest or most normal type of situation it makes it very difficult," Petz said.

"So many times we have children who are stuck in residential facilities as well because of the abuse and neglect of their parents. They're really being punished over and over again."

In other situations, Petz said sometimes the state works with the parents or caregivers to provide rehabilitation services, a process that can take longer than a year. In these cases, Petz said volunteers are needed to help the child through the rehab process.

Because of these kinds of scenarios, Petz said CASA is in great need of volunteers who can stay for "the long haul," and develop a relationship with these children who are looking for someone to trust.

"It is the most frustrating and the most rewarding job you could ever do," Petz said of volunteering for CASA. "I guess the bottom line is if we weren't there providing the service nobody would be."

CASA volunteers are required to do an initial training of 30 hours before taking on a case assignment. After that, Petz said volunteers can spend approximately 10 to 15 hours a month on a case, with approximately 12 hours a year of continuing training. For more information about CASA, contact Petz at 722-4558.

Wendy Pitlick
January 16, 2006

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15938952&BRD=1300&PAG=461&dept_id=156923&rfi=6

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