INFORMATION  ⁼  EDUCATION  ⁼  ENFORCEMENT

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THE EDUCATOR

Stories of Addiction

Wanda, age 36, is mother of eleven children. Her drugs of choice have been marijuana and alcohol. All of the children have been in and out of home care for most of their lives. Two children died, one as a result of a domestic violence incident between parents when they were drunk and high and basically pulled the baby apart. The second, the mother dropped on the sidewalk, shortly after birth while carrying her drunk and high.

Baby girl, two months, born positive at delivery for cocaine is in out-of-home care. Mother has had four pregnancies. All of the babies were born drug affected. One died shortly after birth, one had severe cerebral palsy, was blind, deaf and without functioning kidneys and died at age three. The older brother is placed with relatives and the new baby is in care. The mother had no prenatal care with any of the children and delivered the last child in her front yard.

Marcos, age 18 months, came into foster care for physical neglect after his mother left him laying in his own feces and urine for such an extended period of time that he required hospitalization to soothe the infected skin on his bottom, abdomen and genitalia. At the time of entry, he had a cast on his leg due to an earlier injury in which the mother fell on him and broke the bones in his upper leg. When left to lay with that cast on, his infected skin was so abraded that he had to be put in traction to keep the pressure off the skin. His penis looked like a water blister and according to the admitting doctor, he was days away from being terminal. Her drugs of choice were marijuana and cocaine.

Briana and Keith, ages three and five, have been abandoned to care after the death of their mother due to chronic cocaine and methamphetamine use. Birth father is still a practicing drug and alcohol addict who has displayed no interest in the placement of his children. They have no relative capable or able to care for them. Briana has night terrors and nightmares. She is encopretic and enuretic. They will be placed in long-term care. They came into care with no schedule, no boundaries and numerous behavioral manifestations of fear and anxiety. They spent a good portion of their life homeless on the streets of a neighboring city.

Baby girl age four months, born positive for cocaine at birth, abandoned by the mother, is the latest of five children. Mother's parental rights have been terminated on all of the previous children. Two of the previous children have profound developmental delays. All are in guardianship or have been adopted.

Kristopher, age nine, is one of five children, all in long-term, out-of-home care. Was born drug-affected, mother positive at delivery for cocaine. Has displayed behavioral problems that have disrupted his placements in over 15 foster homes. Currently, is in specialized therapeutic foster care through another agency. He is separated from his siblings, who are also in three different homes. By age 6, he had been suspended from school and charged with assault. He now has a new baby brother, who was also positive for cocaine at delivery, who cannot be soothed, has tremors, and has a hard time sucking due to the effects of the mother's in-utero drug use.

Amy, age two and one half years, came into care for medical neglect weighing 11 pounds. Diagnosed as Failure-to-Thrive shortly after delivery and has had profound physical difficulty since birth. Mother's drug of choice is methamphetamine. She would forget to feed her and/or feed her only chocolate milk in a bottle. Mother has been subsequently sentenced for trafficking, forgery, etc. Child is placed with father.

Brittany, age 29 months, came into care weighing seven pounds at seven months. Mother had reported cocaine use during pregnancy. Child was placed for medical neglect and abandonment when mother left this severely fragile, Failure-to-Thrive child with a relative who was unprepared to provide the level of care needed. At placement, the child had a colostomy, which was a result of infection from a severe bowel obstruction. She also had a feeding tube, which required specialized cleaning and care. This child was one of six. A subsequent child has also been placed. These children are not placed together and have no contact with their mother or siblings. After the initial placement, no one has ever called to ask about them.