KDCF
TOPEKA – Governor Sam Brownback, in partnership with the Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF), declared April 26 as Drug Endangered Child Awareness Day in Kansas.
In FY 2017, in Kansas, 371 children were removed from their homes due to parental drug abuse—119 of those instances were methamphetamine related.
In Ellis County, part of the KDCF West region, 43 children were removed from their homes during FY’17. Thirty-percent of the removals were for neglect, 12 percent were for substance abuse by parents.
- NEGLECT–13 children
- LACK OF SUPERVISION–8 children
- ABANDONMENT–5 children
- PARENT SUBSTANCE ABUSE–5 children
- PHYSICAL ABUSE–4 children
- CHILD’S BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS–3 children
- EMOTIONAL ABUSE–2 children
- OTHER–2 children
- CARETAKERS INABILITY TO COPE–1 child
No children were removed from Ellis County homes for sexual abuse or truancy.
Click HERE to see out of home placements for each county.
“Parents must understand the negative emotional and physical impact drug use has on children,” DCF Secretary Phyllis Gilmore said. “Children whose parents or caregivers use drugs are at a much higher risk of drug use themselves. Our goal is for all Kansas children to grow up in a drug-free environment, free from the safety risks often associated with parental drug use.”
The National Alliance for Drug Endangered Children defines drug endangered children as children who are at risk of suffering physical or emotional harm as a result of illegal drug use, possession, manufacturing, cultivation or distribution. They may also be children whose caretaker’s substance use interferes with the caretaker’s ability to parent and provide a safe and nurturing environment.
For more information on drug endangered children, visit www.nationaldec.org.