PREPARED BY: 

FEDERAL INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE ON DRUG ENDANGERED CHILDREN 

FEDERAL PARTNERSHIPS SUBCOMMITTEE 

May 2011 

Promising Practices Toolkit: 

Working With Drug Endangered 

Children and Their Families 
Table of Contents 

Letter From Task Force Chair ......................................................................................2 

Purpose of the Toolkit ....................................................................................................3 

Awareness ........................................................................................................................4 

Identify Drug Endangered Children 

Establish First Responder Awareness 

Provide DEC Training 

Increase Community Awareness 

Collaboration .................................................................................................................10 

Establish a DEC Team
 

Institutionalize a Collaborative Approach 

Foster a Continuum of Care 

Response.........................................................................................................................16 

Plan for On-Scene Response 

Ensure Prompt, Documented Medical Evaluation 

Ensure Effective Evidence Collection 

Coordinate Child Investigative Interviews 

Strategize for Prosecution 

Encourage Substance Abuse Treatment and Mental Health Services 

Promising Practices Toolkit: Working With Drug Endangered Children and Their Families 

1 
 

 

 

Letter From Task Force Chair
 

In response to the Administration’s 2010 National Drug Control Strategy, the U.S. Department 

of Justice established the Federal Interagency Task Force on Drug Endangered Children (DEC). I 

am privileged to chair this important task force, which benefits from active participation from 

components within the Department of Justice, as well as the Office of National Drug Control 

Policy and the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Education, Homeland Security, 

Transportation, and Interior. The DEC Task Force is committed to identifying ways to better 

serve and protect drug endangered children by building partnerships on the federal, state, tribal, 

and local levels. 

We were fortunate to build on an existing, robust DEC movement. This movement was initiated 

over the last decade to respond to the growing phenomenon of finding children during drug 

arrests, particularly in methamphetamine labs located in homes and other areas where children 

were living or playing. In 2003 alone, approximately 3,300 children were found in the 8,000 

meth labs that were raided. The children found in these situations are often severely harmed or 

neglected and, in many instances, tested positive for drugs. Local DEC programs have been 

created all over the country, and as a result, thousands of children have been rescued from drug 

environments. Our task force wants to share the promising practices that have been helping 

communities better protect these children. 

Our task force members came to understand that a child can be endangered by exposure to illicit 

use of any type of drug. Shortly after our first meeting last May, we came to an agreement that 

the standard DEC definitions used in the field would be more effective if they were broader. We 

adopted the definition that a drug endangered child is a person under the age of 18 who lives in 

or is exposed to an environment where drugs, including pharmaceuticals, are present for any 

number of reasons, including trafficking and manufacturing of these drugs. As a result of such 

exposure, these children experience or are at high risk of experiencing physical, sexual, or 

emotional abuse; harm; or neglect. Tragically, these children also are at risk of being forced to 

participate in illegal or sexual activity in exchange for drugs or money likely to be used to 

purchase drugs. 

The task force is focused on gathering and producing educational resources that can aid law 

enforcement, child welfare workers, health and education professionals, and children’s advocates 

nationwide in protecting children and responding to their needs and the needs of their caregivers. 

By working together with our partners on the federal level and, most importantly, on the state 

and local levels, the task force aims to end this vicious cycle and protect drug endangered 

children, one of our nation’s most vulnerable populations. 

 Sincerely, 

James M. Cole 

Deputy Attorney General 

2 Promising Practices Toolkit: Working With Drug Endangered Children and Their Families 
Awareness 

Response Collaboration 

 

Promising Practices Toolkit: Working With Drug Endangered Children and Their Families 

3 

Purpose of the Toolkit 

The DEC Task Force Federal Partnerships Subcommittee conducted an assessment of promising 

practices in the field and of training modules provided by federal, state, local, tribal, and 

community-based providers across the country. This toolkit is a compilation of many of those 

practices for your use, separated into three categories: (1) increasing DEC awareness 

(“Awareness”), (2) fostering community collaboration (“Collaboration”) and (3) creating a more 

effective response (“Response”). The intent of this toolkit is to provide guidance and resources to 

professionals in identifying, responding to, and serving drug endangered children. For each 

practice we identify, we provide information about the practice (“what is working”), information 

about how this practice can be helpful (“why it works”) and information and other resources to 

assist you in implementing the practice in your community (“how to get started”), such as 

checklists and useful Web sites. We hope you will find this toolkit to be a useful resource to 

better identify and serve drug endangered children. 
 

4 Promising Practices Toolkit: Working With Drug Endangered Children and Their Families 

Awareness 

Just being aware of the drug endangered child in your 

community is a critical first step. Most of these children 

are not on our radar until it is too late, when they come 

to the attention of law enforcement or medical care. 

These children can benefit from a first responder simply 

knowing that there may be a child at the scene of an 

arrest, and planning for their safekeeping. 

To create awareness, all sectors of the community must 

partner together, including law enforcement, medical 

professionals, schools, child welfare, and other 

community or civic groups. 

Creating awareness includes training professionals 

within the community who may encounter drug 

endangered children and training organizations that 

provide support services to families struggling with 

substance abuse. The community at large should have a 

general understanding of the risks facing drug 

endangered children and should know whom to notify 

when they suspect a child is at risk in or exposed to an 

environment where drugs are used, trafficked, or manufactured. A unified community approach 

can ensure that individuals are better able to identify and save these children.
 

 

Identify Drug Endangered Children 

What Is Working: 

Communities should develop a uniform DEC definition and a mechanism to identify such 

children once they enter the various systems. First responders are encouraged to submit 

information, including date of birth, about child victims in the relevant record or system—or 

create such systems where they do not exist. 

Why It Works: 

We do not have a good sense of the extent to which there is a DEC population at the current 

time. Too often these child victims are not identified or logged into the relevant system. As a 

result, we cannot effectively provide follow-up services to these children or study this population 

to improve systems and outcomes. In identifying these children, it will also be important to agree 

on a standard DEC definition. The Federal Interagency DEC Task Force endorsed a broad 

definition to incorporate the many types of drugs and the vehicles by which they enter the child’s 

home and life. We also explained the types of harm and neglect that communities will want to 

address to identify and serve these children. 

How To Get Started: 

Discuss a means to follow the well-being of the child with other partners in an existing or newly 

created multidisciplinary team. Adopt a DEC definition that the various key players in your 

community agree to support. Our DEC Task Force agreed on a broad definition: 

A drug endangered child (DEC) is a person, under the age of 18, who lives in or is 

exposed to an environment where drugs, including pharmaceuticals, are used, 

possessed, trafficked, diverted, and/or manufactured illegally and, as a result of 

that environment— 

1.	 The child experiences, or is at risk of experiencing, physical, sexual, or 

emotional abuse; 

2.	 The child experiences, or is at risk of experiencing, medical, educational, 

emotional, or physical harm or neglect, including harm resulting or possibly 

resulting from the inhalation, ingestion, or absorption of illegal drugs; or 

3.	 The child is forced to participate in illegal or sexual activity in exchange for 

drugs or money, likely to be used to purchase drugs. 

Promising Practices Toolkit: Working With Drug Endangered Children and Their Families 

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6 Promising Practices Toolkit: Working With Drug Endangered Children and Their Families 

Establish First Responder Awareness 

What Is Working: 

The unique challenges of drug endangered children can best be addressed by creating the 

opportunity for a timely and coordinated response. Early recognition of affected and at-risk 

children is critical. This DEC identification can be facilitated by any of the individuals who may 

come in contact with these children in the course of responding to related or unrelated matters. 

Why It Works: 

An effective team cannot operate in a 

vacuum. Professionals from child 

protection agencies, medical and 

mental health agencies, law 

enforcement and other public safety 

agencies, educational institutions, and 

social services should be made aware 

of the threat and available resources to 

ensure that drug endangered children 

are identified and provided with 

appropriate assistance as early as 

possible. 

How To Get Started: 

The Child Welfare Information Gateway provides resources on child welfare, child abuse and 

neglect, out-of-home care, and adoption. 

The National Drug Endangered Children Training and Advocacy Center and the National 

Alliance for Drug Endangered Children provide assistance with education and awareness.
 

Promising Practices Toolkit: Working Wi h Endangered Children and Their Families t Drug 

7 

Provide DEC Training 

What Is Working: 

Training should be widely available and include the staff 

of agencies and organizations that may be in a position 

to recognize a child’s exposure to drugs and make 

appropriate reports and referrals to child protective 

services (CPS) and health professionals (including both 

physical and mental health). In addition to general 

training, specialized training should be made available 

to law enforcement officials, CPS professionals, and 

other first responders to ensure there is an established process/protocol to follow throughout the 

stages of a DEC investigation. This specialized training should also include training on addiction 

and recovery, substance abuse treatment, and child trauma. 

Why It Works: 

DEC training is an invaluable tool to increase awareness of first responders and others in the 

community who may encounter drug endangered children. While DEC-focused training is a 

critical resource, it is equally important to introduce DEC concepts at broader and more general 

training sessions. The latter not only expands the opportunities to increase DEC awareness, but 

also serves to include the safety of the DEC victim as a part of the regular responsibilities of first 

responders and other responsible parties in the community, such as educators, social workers, 

and health providers. 

How To Get Started: 

Visit the following Web pages for additional information: 

• National Drug Endangered Children Training and Advocacy Center. 

• National Alliance for Drug Endangered Children. 

• National District Attorneys Association, National Center for Prosecution of Child Abuse, 

which serves as a nationwide, interdisciplinary resource center for training, research, and 

technical assistance and offers publications for the prosecutorial profession. 

• Arizona’s Drug Endangered Children Program, which includes examples of materials 

used by DEC programs. 

The Child Victim Timeline can be a helpful training tool in educating each member on his/her 

role in the process and how it fits into the larger DEC response. 
 

8 Promising Practices Toolkit: Working With Drug Endangered Children and Their Families 

Increase CommunityAwareness 

What Is Working: 

To establish continued support of any initiatives involving drug endangered children, this issue 

should be introduced to the community at large. Parent-teacher organizations, faith-based 

organizations, community and civic groups, and others actively interested in the health and wellbeing of their community are likely to be receptive and supportive audiences for information 

about drug endangered children and what more can be done to support them. New partners, such 

as educators, utility workers, and animal control officials can provide essential information based 

on their opportunities to observe drug endangered children before it is too late. Foster parents 

should also be provided DEC awareness, and training should be offered to those who may not 

immediately recognize the challenges a drug endangered child faces on a daily basis. 

Why It Works: 

There are numerous resources in each 

community that could play a critical 

role on a multidisciplinary team 

(MDT) or could help to meet the 

specific needs of drug endangered 

children. MDTs may consider 

reaching out to new partners in 

schools and hospitals and should be 

creative in determining which parties 

could benefit from DEC awareness. 

Communities have had success in 

reaching out to medical and dental 

professionals, in-home care providers, 

motel and hotel owners, park 

personnel, property managers, animal control officials, emergency medical technicians (EMTs), 

road cleanup crews, storage unit owners and operators, trash collectors, utility companies, and 

other professionals who work in the community. Teams can also meet with professionals at 

universities and colleges that have programs in victimology, social work, and the like who 

generally do not receive specific DEC training. 

Teams may involve the local media by sharing DEC stories and other relevant information about 

the successes and failures when working with drug endangered children. Additionally, teams 

may work to establish billboards and other public messages about DEC issues. MDTs may 

consider hosting recognition ceremonies for members of the local community who provide 

services and leadership for DEC-related issues. 

Arizona billboard; the same message was also displayed in movie theatres across 

the state. 
 

 

How To Get Started: 

Teams can recruit local organizations or civic groups to collect and donate items of clothing, 

backpacks, toothbrushes, books, food, and/or gift certificates for first responders who encounter 

drug endangered children. 

For additional resources, visit the National Drug Endangered Children Training and Advocacy 

Center and the National Alliance for Drug Endangered Children, which provide assistance with 

education and awareness. 

Promising Practices Toolkit: Working With Drug Endangered Children and Their Families 

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Collaboration
 

Collaboration is critical to creating a unified 

response and more successful outcomes. Once 

the community has been made aware of the 

need to identify children exposed to 

environments where drugs are used, trafficked, 

or manufactured; state, local, and community 

agencies should partner to develop DEC 

protocols to ensure children and their families 

receive the appropriate judicial and recovery 

support services. 

Collaboration is best established through a 

multidisciplinary team approach that brings 

together as many sectors of the community as 

possible. Once established, the team should 

formalize—through a memorandum of 

understanding—agencies’ roles and 

responsibilities to ensure a seamless transition 

and continuum-of-care for children and 

families. 

10 Promising Practices Toolkit: Working With Drug Endangered Children and Their Families 
 

Promising Practices Toolkit: Working With Drug Endangered Children and Their Families 

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Establish a DEC Team 

What Is Working: 

Interagency partnerships are critical for effective and systemic responses to the needs of drug 

endangered children. Partnerships should be created, or expanded, to form multidisciplinary 

teams (MDTs). Existing MDTs focusing on child abuse, neglect, and endangerment should 

consider expanding their focus to incorporate a DEC response for child victims identified in 

drug-related environments. 

Key MDT partners include law enforcement officials, CPS professionals, medical professionals, 

educators/school social workers, substance abuse and mental health treatment providers, and the 

court. Substance abuse and mental health treatment providers also benefit MDTs due to their 

ability to address the addiction treatment needs of caretakers and the mental health needs of the 

children and caretakers. Ensuring prompt treatment access through these partnerships can 

improve the team’s ability to make permanency decisions in a timely manner for children who 

are placed in foster care. 

Memorandums of Understanding should be 

negotiated to clarify expectations, delineate 

partners’ roles, and permit the sharing of 

confidential information, when necessary 

and appropriate. Additionally, all DEC 

team members should receive DEC training 

by subject matter experts. 

Some communities have found it helpful to 

assemble two DEC teams: (1) a DEC 

Response Unit and (2) an Educational Unit. 

DEC Response Units provide immediate response at, or directly following, crime scenes 

involving drug endangered children. Members of these teams typically include law enforcement 

officials, CPS professionals, medical emergency room providers, and a local prosecutor. At a 

minimum, it is helpful for law enforcement agencies to coordinate with CPS in advance of 

arrests or other law enforcement actions to better organize onsite assistance, facilitate a child’s 

removal, have necessary provisions available (e.g., car seat, clothes, food), arrange for medical 

assessment, ensure a safe place to stay, coordinate the child witness/victim interview, and ensure 

that all actions and evidence are properly documented. 
 

 

 

 

 

Educational Units foster and support community awareness. Members could include educators; 

school personnel; community members; probation and court personnel; business and civic 

leaders; early childhood intervention program specialists; prevention, treatment, and/or recovery 

professionals; and others. 

Why It Works: 

The needs of drug endangered children are complex and communities are more proactive and 

effective if agencies and organizations coordinate their resources. 

How To Get Started: 

Identify a multidisciplinary DEC alliance supported by the National Alliance for Drug 

Endangered Children. 

For guidance on establishing an MDT, visit the National Drug Endangered Children Training 

and Advocacy Center. 

The National Children’s Alliance helps local communities respond to allegations of child abuse. 

The National Children’s Advocacy Center provides models and training on prevention, 

intervention, and treatment services in situations involving child abuse and neglect. 

The National Center for Prosecution of Child Abuse provides training, publications, and 

coordination assistance. 

The National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare provides assistance through local, 

state, and tribal agencies to families involved in child welfare and family judicial systems due to 

substance use disorders. 

Have a backpack ready with comfort and essential items (e.g., toothbrush, clothing, book, food, 

gift certificate). Local companies may be willing to offer these items. See the Wisconsin Alliance 

for Drug Endangered Children, Backpack Program for additional information. 

Read Forming a Multidisciplinary Team To Investigate Child Abuse. 

See an example of a state’s guidance on starting a DEC Program. 

The Drug Endangered Children Training and Advocacy Center provides tools for building a 

Memorandum of Understanding. 

12 Promising Practices Toolkit: Working With Drug Endangered Children and Their Families 
 

Promising Practices Toolkit: Working With Drug Endangered Children and Their Families 

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Institutionalize a Collaborative Approach 

What Is Working: 

Establishing MDT meetings as a routine practice encourages regular attendance. Schedule 

meetings well in advance (e.g., an afternoon, quarterly, on the second Tuesday in the month) so 

that the meeting becomes routine and as many partners as possible reserve the time on their 

calendars. 

Encourage locating CPS professionals in federal, state, and/or local law enforcement offices to 

foster regular contact among team members. When they are located in these offices, CPS 

professionals are able to provide onsite assistance and/or consultation, when appropriate. Team 

members should be mindful of the limitations and restraints that may exist in these 

circumstances. 

Why It Works: 

MDT coordination allows for a CPS 

professional to assist drug endangered 

children onsite and provides the 

opportunity to provide continuity of care 

for the child who often enters the 

criminal justice system more than one 

time. In areas where there is no DEC 

team, this initial collaborative approach 

may lead to the development of an 

MDT. 

Whether the CPS professional spends 1 or 5 days a week in federal, state, and/or local law 

enforcement offices, their time can be instrumental in building relationships and sharing 

information, which might not happen if law enforcement and CPS do not routinely cross paths. 

How To Get Started: 

Review resources provided by the National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare. 
14 Promising Practices Toolkit: Working With Drug Endangered Children and Their Families 

Foster a Continuum of Care 

What Is Working: 

MDT partners should communicate with each other 

about children and families through each stage in the 

process, to the extent possible, to ensure that the needs 

of all those involved (e.g., children, caregivers) are 

identified and that appropriate services are provided. 

The process for every child and family will look 

different; some may be the subject of a criminal 

investigation and prosecution, some may be involved i 

CPS intervention, and others may be working tow 

possible reunification. 

n 

ard 

Why It Works: 

MDTs should recognize that the needs of children and families in these situations are complex 

and responses will need to vary accordingly. Regular communication among team members can 

provide the opportunity to modify interventions as needed. 

Teams that maintain a focus on the best interest of the child and respond with a multifaceted 

approach will reduce the risk of children falling through the cracks while their cases move 

through various stages and/or when the children move into various child protection and law 

enforcement jurisdictions. Subsequently, case management and consistent follow-up throughout 

this process can help ensure that children and families are provided the necessary range of 

services to address their individual needs. 

How To Get Started: 

Review state sites that have DEC response teams. 

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention's Model Programs Guide assists 

practitioners and communities in implementing evidence-based prevention and intervention 

programs. The database covers the continuum of youth services from prevention to sanctions to 

reentry. 

The Child Welfare Information Gateway connects child welfare and related professionals to 

comprehensive information and resources to help protect children and strengthen families. 

The National Children’s Alliance assists communities responding to child abuse and neglect. 
 

Read— 

•	 Sharing Data Across Youth-Serving 

Agencies: Philadelphia’s Policy and 

Analysis Center, The Finance Project. 

•	 Linking Data across Agencies: States 

That Are Making It Work, Data Quality 

Campaign. 

•	 Screening and Assessment for Family 

Engagement, Retention, and Recovery 

(SAFERR), National Center on 

Substance Abuse and Child Welfare. 

Promising Practices Toolkit: Working With Drug Endangered Children and Their Families 

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16 Promising Practices Toolkit: Working With Drug Endangered Children and Their Families 

Response 

Photo courtesy of the National Drug Endangered Children 

Training and Advocacy Center. 

Once a DEC team has been established, 

members of the team should be trained on 

the procedures to be followed when 

responding to situations in which drug 

endangered children may be present. 

Providing law enforcement and first 

responders with the tools that will ensure 

the safety of children is essential. Having a 

protocol in place for law enforcement and 

first responders will assist in securing 

proper care for children and effective onscene documentation and evidence 

collection, including child interviews, 

should there be a criminal prosecution. 
 

Promising Practices Toolkit: Working With Drug Endangered Children and Their Families 

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Plan for On-Scene Response 

What Is Working: 

When law enforcement officials and other first responders encounter, or expect to encounter, 

drug endangered children, they should ensure that the immediate safety and other basic needs of 

children are appropriately addressed by following an established checklist or protocol. 

A checklist should encourage advance communication, when possible, with other DEC team 

members. The checklist may also include having a victim specialist or child protection worker 

along, or on call, when arrests or execution of search warrants may involve an encounter with a 

drug endangered child. 

Why It Works: 

Utilizing checklists and 

straightforward protocols for onscene response has proven to be 

helpful in addressing the needs of 

drug endangered children and in 

situations involving other forms 

of child maltreatment. Law 

enforcement officers who execute 

search warrants and make arrests 

face uncertain situations and 

may not be immediately 

available to focus on the needs 

of children. Having a protocol in place that encourages the involvement of other DEC team 

members and agency personnel is both critical and beneficial so that specific trained individuals 

will be responsible to attend to the needs of children—even if they are called to the scene shortly 

after the initial operation. 

Photo courtesy of the National Drug Endangered Children Training and Advocacy 

Center. 

How To Get Started: 

For sample checklists, please visit the National Drug Endangered Children Training and 

Advocacy Center.
18 Promising Practices Toolkit: Working With Drug Endangered Children and Their Families 

Ensure Prompt, Documented Medical 

Evaluation 

What Is Working: 

CPS, law enforcement, and/or other appropriate professionals on scene should ensure that— 

• Emergency care is provided to drug endangered children as soon as possible; 

• Drug endangered children receive medical evaluation and care with documentation of 

overall physical and mental conditions; 

• Drug endangered children have drug testing utilizing urine screens; 

• The appropriate chain of evidence procedures are followed; and 

• An individual is tasked with the responsibility of following up with a medical provider. 

If drug endangered children are identified or if 

there is evidence of them at a drug lab site, 

additional response is required including health 

screening and decontamination; assessment for 

signs of toxicity, physical injury, and burns; and 

emergency treatment. 

Why It Works: 

A child in a home where substances are being 

abused may have also been a victim of 

physical, sexual, and/or emotional abuse or 

neglect. These children may test positive for a 

drug as a result of passive smoke inhalation, needle sticks, drug residue, and/or ingestion. Due to 

the lack of attention to basic care and exposure to toxic environments, a child may have poor 

nutritional status, dehydration, or damage to organs and respiratory systems. Children found in 

these situations will require medical attention. Evidence should be carefully documented so that 

endangerment, abuse, and/or neglect charges can be filed by the prosecutor. 

Child Friendly Medical Examination Room. 

Photo courtesy of the National Children’s Advocacy Center. 

How To Get Started: 

Review articles on the medical impact to Drug Endangered Children on the National Alliance for 

Drug Endangered Children Web site. 

Review sample response protocols, such as—
Promising Practices Toolkit: Working With Drug Endangered Children and Their Families 

19 

• Michigan DEC Response 

Protocol, which is designed 

primarily for use when 

encountering meth-endangered 

children but may also be applied 

to other controlled substances. 

• Indiana DEC Comprehensive 

Care Protocol, which is to be 

administered by medical, mental 

health, developmental, and dental 

professionals after a child has 

been removed from a meth lab or 

home to ensure the child’s physical, emotional, and developmental well-being. 

The National Children’s Advocacy Center provides models and training on prevention, 

intervention, and treatment services in situations involving child abuse and neglect. 
 

20 Promising Practices Toolkit: Working With Drug Endangered Children and Their Families 

Ensure Effective Evidence Collection 

What Is Working: 

Evidence of a child’s presence and 

exposure to illegal and toxic substances 

should be carefully documented and 

preserved. Responders should ensure that 

investigative reports include names of 

children who have been directly exposed 

to drugs and their condition when 

located. Investigators should document 

availability or lack of basic needs (e.g., 

food, clean water, clothing, medical 

care). Closeup pictures of danger 

warning labels on chemicals dangerous to human life are as important as noting the absence of 

standard safety measures, such as the lack of smoke alarms. Neighbors and witnesses should also 

be interviewed close to the time of the arrest. 

Why It Works: 

Properly identifying and documenting 

relevant risk and safety factors in the home 

at the time of arrest will support the 

prosecution and facilitate the identification 

of specific corrective measures that need 

to be considered when working toward 

reunification. 

This photo documents the drugs and paraphernalia found in the child’s room.

 Photo courtesy of the National Drug Endangered Children Training and 

Advocacy Center. 
 

Promising Practices Toolkit: Working With Drug Endangered Children and Their Families 

21 

Pictures of the child, caregiver, and 

the actual conditions and care under 

which the child was living will be 

critical visual documentation. It is 

also important to take pictures and 

measure distances from the child’s 

eye level and access (e.g., distance 

from the crib or toys to drugs) to 

present in court. Photograph, 

document, and collect evidence of 

chemicals, drugs, drug 

paraphernalia, and pornography. This should include those locations both inside and outside of 

the dwelling or play area. Also, photograph and document any firearms or weapons accessible to 

the child. 

How To Get Started: 

Investigators should document availability or lack of basic needs 

(e.g., food, clean water, clothing, medical care) and should use a 

DEC drug test kit if available, which includes first urine sample (it 

is critical to children’s health to rule out concerns for nutritional 

status, dehydration, and drug exposure). Additional guidance is 

available through the National Drug Endangered Children Training 

and Advocacy Center. 

These photos are used to capture the height and reach 

of children, to document their ability to access drugs 

found in the home. 
 

  

   

22 Promising Practices Toolkit: Working With Drug Endangered Children and Their Families 

Coordinate Child Investigative Interviews 

What Is Working: 

Responders should work with a forensic child interview specialist, if available, or another 

appropriately trained specialist, to conduct interviews with children. These interviews should be 

memorialized (e.g., video recording) to 

ensure that the initial statement by the 

child witness can be preserved and 

treated as evidence. CPS and law 

enforcement should be present during 

the interview to minimize the number of 

interviews and trauma to children. 

Why It Works: 

Including an expert and minimizing the number of interviews (and the number of interviewers) 

will ensure that the child’s recollection is accurately, fully, and appropriately documented and 

will also reduce some of the trauma to the child. 

How To Get Started: 

Training and resources are available in most communities to assist law enforcement and child 

protection workers to obtain legally sound and developmentally appropriate interviews with 

child and adolescent victims. There are hundreds of children’s advocacy centers, or similar 

centers around the country, that conduct forensic interviews with children on behalf of agencies 

and MDTs. 

Many of the centers are members of the National Children’s Alliance. 

Other national organizations have developed practice standards with regard to forensic 

interviewing and have presented training courses for law enforcement and child protection 

workers around the country. 

These organizations include the National Center for Prosecution of Child Abuse , American 

Professional Society on the Abuse of Children and National Child Advocacy Center. 
 

Promising Practices Toolkit: Worki ith Drug Endangered Children and Their Families ng W

23 

Strategize for Prosecution 

What Is Working: 

When evidence warrants, prosecution agencies should 

consider bringing child abuse/ neglect/endangerment 

charges or other appropriate charges against 

individuals. This approach may strengthen the MDT’s 

efforts to achieve favorable child protection outcomes. 

In addition, prosecution agencies should inform and 

coordinate with child protection agencies regarding the 

progress and disposition of such criminal charges, 

including any terms of release or probation. 

Why It Works: 

A record of child abuse/neglect/endangerment charges 

plays an important role in safeguarding the welfare of 

children and can influence the terms of pretrial release, 

sentence, probation, or parole. If, through the course of 

plea negotiations, the charges are ultimately dismissed, 

the prosecutor may nevertheless request that the court 

consider the circumstances surrounding such charges as a 

factor when sentencing the defendant. 

How To Get Started: 

The National Center for Prosecution of Child Abuse provides assistance with the investigation 

and prosecution of child abuse crimes. 

Read— 

• NDAA Drug-Endangered Children Compilation, National District Attorneys Association. 

• Parental Drug Use As Child Abuse: Summary of State Laws, Child Welfare Information 

Gateway. 

• Family Dependency Treatment Court: Applying the Drug Court Model in Child 

Maltreatment Cases, National Drug Court Institute. 

• Building Bridges: The Case for Sharing Data between the Court and Child Welfare 

Systems, New York State Child Welfare Court Improvement Project. 
 

Encourage Substance Abuse 

Treatment and Mental Health 

Services 

What Is Working: 

One of the best ways to address the long term well-being of drug endangered 

children is to address the substance abuse and mental health problems of parents 

and caretakers. The availability of effective substance abuse treatment p rograms, 

coupled with treatment for co-occurring mental health disorders and long-term 

supports for ongoing recovery, is an important part of a community’s overall 

DEC strategy. 

Criminal and/or family drug courts and other alternative sentencing strategies 

can complement standard voluntary treatment opportunities in order to 

maximize participation and encourage recovery for parents. A DEC strategy 

should include comprehensive treatment services with a strong family/parenting 

component in addition to services that address substance use disorders and cooccurring mental health problems, including the consequences of trauma. 

Why It Works: 

Research clearly shows that “most people who get into and remain in treatment 

stop using drugs, decrease their criminal activity, and improve their 

occupational, social, and psychological functioning” (Principles of Drug 

Addiction Treatment: A Research Based Guide, National Institute on Drug 

Abuse, 2009). 

Arrests and CPS investigations can provide effective points of intervention to 

convince parents to enter and engage in substance abuse treatment programs. 

Compulsory treatment (e.g., through drug courts) is effective in improving 

treatment retention so that clients remain in treatment long enough for programs 

to have desired effects. 

24 Promising Practices Toolkit: Working With Drug Endangered Children and Their Families 
 

Promising Practices Toolkit: Working With Drug En gered Children an Their ilies dan d Fam 

25 

How To Get Started: 

Read— 

• What Can We Expect from Substance Abuse Treatment, Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention. 

• Drug Courts: An Effective Strategy for Communities Facing Methamphetamine, Office of 

Justice Programs. 

• Policy Brief on: Cost-Effectiveness of Substance Abuse Treatment in Criminal Justice 

Settings, Substance Abuse Policy Research Program. 

• Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment: A Research Based Guide, National Institute on 

Drug Abuse. 

• Framework and Policy Tools for Improving Linkages Between Alcohol and Drug 

Services, Child Welfare Services and Dependency Courts: Full Document; Summary 

Document 

Explains a framework for assessing the components of collaborative efforts to address the 

substance abuse issues among families in the child welfare and dependency court 

systems. 

Find information on supports for ongoing recovery at— 

• Faces and Voices of Recovery Resources Web page. 

• Addiction Technology Transfer Center Network Resources Web page. 

• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's Partners for Recovery 

Web page. 

Find additional information on the following Web pages: 

• National Association of Drug 

Court Professionals 

• Family Treatment Drug Courts, 

National Center on Substance 

Abuse and Child Welfare. 

• Women, Children, & Families, 

a Substance Abuse and Mental 

Health Services Administration 

Web site offering resources that 

address the needs of substance 

abusing women and their 

families. 
Order This Publication 

To obtain copies of this publication on CD–ROM— 

•	 Call the COPS Office Response Center at 800–421–6770, or 

•	 Order online through the COPS Office Resource Information Center at
 

www.cops.usdoj.gov. 

The CD–ROM is free and there is no charge for shipping. These resources also are available 

online at www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/Children. 

26 Promising Practices Toolkit: Working With Drug Endangered Children and Their Families