The drug epidemic is affecting us all in some way, but is taking a very hefty toll on the most vulnerable – the children.
Editor’s Note: Marlton resident Iris Maldonado submitted the following to The Sun. Maldonado is working toward a master’s degree in psychiatric nursing at the university of Pennsylvania. As part of her curriculum, she was required to make a submission to a local news publication.
By IRIS MALDONADO BSN, RN
University of Pennsylvania Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner program
In New Jersey, drug overdoses and drug-linked deaths have grown to critical proportions. The drug epidemic is affecting us all in some way but is taking a very hefty toll on the most vulnerable, the children. What is worse, almost 9 million children (one in eight children) live in households where at least one parent has a substance use disorder in the United States (Lipari & Van Horn, 2017). Who cares? Some may say, I do, and you should too, as research studies have shown children of addict parents had lower family functioning, poor socioeconomic status, had more issues learning and behaving well at school than children of parents without addictions (Uradu, 2016). At present, national efforts to tackle the drug crisis are mainly focused on addiction recovery, but the trauma endured by the children of those suffering from addictions is barely addressed.
Fortunately, legislation introduced by Sens. Shelly Moore Capito, of West Virginia; Joe Manchin, of West Virginia; and Tim Kaine of Virginia, is seeking to establish funding to broaden the “Handle with Care Act,” already in place in West Virginia, to the rest of the nation (Moore Capito, Manchin, & Kaine, 2018).
The handle with care program is addressing the impact of addiction related trauma in children in public schools by creating a channel of communication between law enforcement and the school system. The way it works is that whenever police handle a case where a child has been exposed to drugs, has witnessed a drug overdose, or is victim of addiction-related violence, a special alert is sent to the child’s school.
Some may argue this program poses privacy issues, stigmatizes the child, or the school alone may not be enough to help in complicated cases. However, the truth is the handle with care program is completely confidential with only the essential school personnel involved in the child’s case having knowledge of it (Basch, 2018). What is more, the alert only remains in the child’s school record for a limited amount of time and it does not transfer from elementary to middle school, neither from middle to high school. All this is done with the purpose of keeping the child from being stigmatized and/or being associated with the drug crisis for the rest of their school years. After receiving the alert, the school then rapidly and confidentially activates resources within the school to help the child to identify and to deal with these traumas as early as possible. Also, referrals to seek help in the community are often provided by the school for complicated cases or whenever needed.
We could debate that to solve the drug epidemic we should focus on the addicts, who are the root of the problem, and not their children. This is a valid point; however, to tackle the problem we must be able to deal with the current drug crisis from a holistic standpoint and provide the tools for preventing the problem from repeating for generations. We all know children are our future and to have a great future we must provide the best care for our young. The children affected by the drug epidemic, however, may not have such a bright future because, without the due treatment, these traumatized children are more likely to become addicts when they grow up (Uradu, 2016). Studies have found children affected by drug and addictions in their home have low self-esteem, suffer from anxiety, depression, lack of empathy for others and often develop oppositional defiant conduct disorders (Uradu, 2016). The challenges faced by these traumatized children even extend beyond the home to the school where poor academic performance and high suspension rates are often seen.
In New Jersey, the drug crisis is getting worse with more than 80,000 addicts seeking treatment in 2017 alone (Statistical Report: Substance Abuse, 2006–2017). The children of these addicts are suffering as well and experiencing trauma as a result of the drug epidemic in their families and in our communities. The unaddressed mental health needs of children with substance abuse-related trauma can adversely affect them and affect us all as a community. An intervention that can effectively prevent and mitigate the impact of such trauma in children is desperately needed. We must provide the tools and the federal support to recognize that trauma affects children in schools and coordinate services to prevent and address their effects as early as possible. For these reasons,
New Jersey sens. Bob Menendez and Cory Booker must provide the support and vote to approve bill S.2754 and bring the handle with care program to New Jersey.
