The Drug Epidemic Impacts Our Children, Families, and Programs

Summary of Article's First 150 Words

Total word count: 1816

Since October 1, 2003 I have been traveling across the country working with and visiting early childhood programs of every size, shape, and demographic. I have been in 32 states and two countries, in urban and rural settings. I have observed an alarming common denominator during discussions with staff and community members in almost 100 percent of these programs: the rising impact of the local manufacture, distribution, and use of methamphetamines in rural America and its increasing impact on early childhood.

Almost without fail the discussion leads to anecdotes of homes in served communities blowing up as a result of a meth lab accident; to children missing from the center for weeks while their parents are incarcerated or too incapacitated to get them to the pre-school, or, as likely, too afraid of being discovered by an alert child care staff. I have listened to stories of wrestling matches between caregivers and social ...