Orange County Program Helps Rescue Children Found at Drug-Making Sites

When police investigators served a search warrant at a Santa Ana trailer park recently, they found more than a methamphetamine lab.

Behind a sheet that doubled as a curtain, under the dining room table, they found four sleeping children.

Under a pilot program started in Orange County three years ago and now being copied

“It’s a holistic view of law enforcement,” said Walter Allen, special agent of the California Department of Justice Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement. “We are taking more of an interest in what happens to the children who live in this environment.”

Because of the Drug Endangered Children Team, children found in homes where drugs are present get medical tests. Officials said the tests often indicate methamphetamine in the children’s systems from longtime exposure to chemicals used in the drug trade.

Investigators look at crime scenes on their knees, to see how accessible drugs are to the children.

In the past, only children who showed clear signs of health troubles were given special care, said Paul Haas, an investigator for the Anaheim Police Department. Now all children found in these conditions receive medical checks and emotional counseling, he said.

Specially trained social workers accompany police on raids so they can quickly tend to any children at the scene.

The pilot program is continuing to operate in Orange, Los Angeles and five other counties, although Gov. Gray Davis recently vetoed a bill proposing $10 million in state general funds to expand it. Orange County officials say they will shuffle their resources in an effort to extend the project.

More than 130 children in Orange County have been aided by the program, including 31 this year. In 10 cases where both parents were not involved in drugs, children were returned to their families after extensive parenting classes.

Los Angeles County’s pilot program is limited to the San Gabriel Valley. Last year, officials provided special services to 86 children and expect the number to rise this year. In one case, investigators came across a 6-year-old Pasadena boy who had to help his father escape a fire caused by the family’s methamphetamine lab.

“This is a quantum leap for a cop. I’ve really learned that we’re doing this for the kids. They are getting the short end of the stick. We are dealing with them, trying to get them a better deal,” Haas said.

Methamphetamines, also known as speed or crank, can be eaten, snorted, smoked or injected. Those who take the drug feel potent and strong although the body actually reacts more slowly. While cocaine ruled the drug world in the 1980s, meth has become so popular that “street people say you have to special order cocaine. Coke is just not on the streets anymore. And every speck of meth comes from a lab,” Haas said.

Last year, 111 meth labs were raided in Orange County. This year, 95 have been raided, Allen said.

The labs often are no more than a kitchen counter or a bathroom sink. Making the drug requires mixing toxic chemicals, often in tight quarters near where children sleep and play. Hydrochloric acid, iodine and gasoline are often used to make the drug in a microwave or on a stove top. Fires often get out of control.

“These are not people who work for Dow Chemical,” Haas said of the meth makers. “They are messy. They are anxious. They are not neat.”

The four children pulled from the Santa Ana trailer all tested positive for drugs. One told investigators he was frequently asked to bring chemicals from a tool shed. Chemicals were regularly dumped in the backyard where they played. The family bathroom and kitchen were often used in the process. The 9-year-old told police he was looking forward to going to Orangewood Children’s Home because he would get his own bed, officials said.

The children subsequently were moved to a foster family home.

The father was charged with manufacturing meth and with endangering a child. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five years in prison. Officials would not release his name or that of other parents because they want to protect the identities of the children.

Investigators say they can’t forget scenes they’ve witnessed:

* A baby whose crib toys tested positive for the drug.

* A child who ate chicken from the family refrigerator where every item tested positive for meth.

* A 7-year-old who showed police how to cook meth.

“We’re talking about [parents] who can’t even take care of themselves, and they’re manufacturing these dangerous drugs,” said John Allen Ramseyer, a Los Angeles deputy district attorney who prosecutes such cases.

Wendy Wright, a pediatrician at Children’s Hospital of San Diego who has worked with the program since its inception, said the exact effects of methamphetamine on children are unknown.

“Methamphetamine in a child can be quite harmful if they ingest too much. The problem is no one knows how much is too much. They can have seizures, heart problems,” she said.

Children who are regularly exposed to meth smoke and dust could be vulnerable to learning and developmental disabilities, she said.

Several police agencies were surprised when the governor rejected the $10 million in additional funding for the program.

Steve Maviglio, spokesman for Gov. Gray Davis, said the governor thinks the program is commendable, but “it was $10 million that did not go through the traditional budget process. While the governor thinks the program has merit, he believes it also should go through the budget process to compete against other programs with merit.”

In the meantime, officials in Orange County and other counties, including San Diego and Butte, are scrambling to put other funding in place.

“We are committed to this program,” said Jyothi Atluri, an Orange County Social Services Agency supervisor. “If we don’t get funding, we will still use our workers to help.”