Crack Babies: The Numbers Mount

Crack babies suffer terribly--starting even before they’re born, when their expectant mothers smoke the highly addictive form of cocaine. That prenatal drug exposure can lead to premature birth, low birth weight and birth defects, according to a recent report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

As many as 100,000 crack babies are born every year. In the best of worlds, these children would be quickly identified and placed in foster care while their addicted mothers also got the help they need. In reality, many crack babies are not identified immediately. And social service agencies can’t even meet the demand to help those who are.

Late last year, for example, a federal government survey found 8,974 newborn crack babies in eight cities, including Los Angeles. The estimated cost of hospital delivery, immediate postnatal care and foster care for those babies could be an astounding $500 million. And the costs will grow higher as the children grow older. Just to get one crack baby ready for school costs more than $40,000 a year, according to the report. For all 8,974 babies, that could add up to $1.5 billion before they are 5 years old!

The oldest crack babies are already school-age and educators are warning that they may require years of special education to overcome their learning disabilities. The most emotionally disturbed may require residential care. If they get involved with drugs, as their mothers did, they will need treatment. That could cost billions more.

But absent those billions of additional dollars, what can state and local governments do now to help these innocents? The HHS report advises aggressive campaigns that emphasize the dangers of prenatal drug exposure to expectant mothers. It also suggests more training for social workers who must handle the complicated cases of crack babies and their families, and who often must go into dangerous areas to track down mothers who abandon their babies.

Local governments also can change policies to make foster placement and adoption easier. Few crack babies are adopted, according to the federal study. Despite needing better home environments, most are sent to live with their mothers or another relative.

But local agencies can’t do it all. The federal government must mount a national campaign to help Americans focus on the enormity of this problem, and then provide some of the funding needed to help crack babies lead as close to normal lives as they can hope for.