Drug Endangered Children

Definition

Drug Endangered Children are children who are at risk of suffering physical harm or neglect as a result of illegal drug use, possession, manufacturing, cultivation, or distribution. They may also be children whose caretakers' substance misuse interferes with his or her ability to parent and provide a safe and nurturing environment.

Mission

The mission of the Drug Endangered Children program is to identify and protect drug endangered children and to identify, provide, and improve services available to these children and their families by providing a collaborative response that ensures the safety and the physical, mental and emotional well-being of these children.

Purpose

In the interest of protecting children found in homes where illegal drugs are kept, sold, manufactured or used, the Drug Endangered Children team has developed a multi-agency cooperative effort involving the Iowa Department of Public Safety, the Mid-Iowa Narcotics Enforcement (M.I.N.E), the Des Moines Police Department, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, the Polk County Attorney’s Office, Blank Children’s Hospital, and other agencies to address drug endangered children’s issues. These agencies will work in a collaborative effort to facilitate a coordinated response to promote the health and safety of children found in homes where illegal drugs are used, stored, sold or manufactured. The goal of the DEC Team is to provide the appropriate diagnosis and treatment of children who have been exposed to illegal drugs. Appropriate diagnosis and early treatment are imperative so that the psychosocial and physical needs of these children are effectively addressed.

DEC Team Response

If allegations of drug activity are received, DHHS will contact law enforcement. Law enforcement will coordinate with DHHS when their assistance is needed. If DMPD or the MINE Task Force is responding, a drug task force officer will notify the DEC representative with the Polk County Attorney’s Office. The DEC representative shall respond to the scene within an hour. Law enforcement will notify DHHS per mandatory reporting guidelines per Iowa Code 232.70. DHHS will respond per Iowa Code Section 232.71B. If immediate assistance is requested by law enforcement, DHHS will respond to the scene within one hour.

A law enforcement lab response team will respond when an illegal drug lab is located. The law enforcement lab team will process the methamphetamine or other drug lab pursuant to the guidelines established by the Iowa Department of Public Safety and the Iowa Department of Public Health. If necessary, Polk County EMS will respond to illegal drug laboratories where children are present. Lab certified law enforcement personnel will evaluate the child for any acute symptoms of chemical exposure and determine whether the child needs decontamination and/or emergency medical care. Any indicated decontamination of the child will occur at the scene. Task force and DHHS personnel will place the child into clean clothing at the scene, and the contaminated clothing of the child will be retained as evidence. The initial complete medical examination and testing should be completed as soon as possible but not later than within 12 hours.

For reasons of imminent danger, law enforcement will remove the child(ren) from the caretaker’s custody and immediately orally inform the court of the emergency removal and the circumstances surrounding the removal. Upon notification, DHHS will respond to the scene within one hour. If there is a law enforcement removal, the medical examination and testing should occur within 24 hours (pursuant to Iowa Code 232.79 (5)).

If emergency removal is not necessary, and the parents are available and cooperative, a safety plan and/or action plan may be created. The action plan shall include the parents’ agreement to have the child(ren) evaluated at Blank Children’s STAR Center or by the child’s primary care provider within 72 hours or as soon as possible as the medical facility scheduling allows.

If a safety plan cannot be created due to a parent not being available or cooperative, DHHS will consult with the county attorney’s office regarding a court ordered removal. If a court ordered removal is granted, the child(ren) shall have an evaluation and testing at the STAR Center or by the child’s primary care provider within 72 hours or as soon as possible as medical facility scheduling allows. All children less than 6 years of age should be seen at the STAR Center for developmental assessments.

If the child(ren) cannot remain with a parent or guardian, the child(ren) may be placed either in shelter care, foster care or kin or fictive kin care. Information necessary to file a Child In Need of Assistance petition will be provided to the county attorney’s office and DHHS shall arrange for services as needed. If parents provide names of kin or fictive kin who might be available to care for their children in lieu of foster care, DHHS will complete criminal, sex offender and child abuse history checks on all household members. Potential caretakers shall be provided information for applying for TXIX and FIP if necessary to support the child(ren) financially. DHHS shall engage potential caretakers in a safety plan regarding ongoing care, supervision, and parental contact.

In all cases involving drug endangered children, law enforcement will assist in the investigation, collection of evidence, and preparation of the case for prosecution, including relevant reporting of all issues regarding child endangerment.

All photographs and reports written will be maintained by the local law enforcement agency or task force. All photographs and reports that pertain to child endangerment filings will be shared through the local county attorney’s office with DHS to support allegations of child abuse in the Child in Need of Assistance (CINA) proceedings or DHHS service eligible cases.

As dictated by evidence gathered in each individual case, the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services will review, make a filing determination, and proceed accordingly for each DEC case in Polk County. The Polk County Attorney’s Office will review and file the Child in Need of Assistance (CINA) when requested by DHHS. The county attorney’s office will convene periodic meetings of the DEC team. When appropriate, the county attorney’s office, in coordination with the Polk County DEC team, will hold training for law enforcement, DHHS, and other agencies.

Interviewing Victims, Witness, and Parents

Task force agents, the investigating officers, and DHHS will conduct preliminary interviews of witnesses and parents at the scene whenever possible. While at the scene every effort should be made to obtain medical histories, such as, does the child have any allergies, are they on any medications, any chronic medical conditions, and if an infant, what type of formula. In cases where the child is removed from the custodian’s care, a removal physical exam including testing indicated in the medical protocols is required. Consent for such physicals is not required in removal cases. A forensic interview of the child(ren) may be requested if law enforcement or DHHS believe it would be helpful to the investigation process.

DEC Team Meetings

All members of the DEC team shall meet quarterly to discuss DEC policies and protocols and to review the progress of the DEC team. At that time there may be a case review to successfully assess and improve upon the response by the DEC team. In addition, a subcommittee of members shall meet monthly to review recent Polk County DEC cases to ensure that proper protocols were followed, that the needs of the child(ren) have been identified and met, and that the appropriate follow up is arranged.