Heroin epidemic fuels spike in number of Manatee County children removed from their homes

MANATEE -- Child protection officials removed a record 77 children from families in Manatee County in July. Most, according to the sheriff's office, were because of their parents' drug addictions, another painful reminder of the heroin epidemic ravaging families in Bradenton.

"Substance abuse has been the No. 1 reason we shelter children," said Maj. Connie Shingledecker, of the sheriff's Child Protection Investigation Division. "It goes hand-in-hand with neglect."

Mary Ruiz, CEO of Centerstone Florida, an addiction treatment center in Manatee County formerly known as Manatee Glens, has seen the same trend. Centerstone handles case management for children and parents who have been separated due to substance abuse in the interest of eventually reuniting the family.

"The No. 1 reason children are removed from homes is that the parents are using," Ruiz said. "That seems to be the case here."

It also has put a huge burden on available foster homes. Shingledecker confirmed the marked increase in the number of children they've had to shelter in Manatee County since the heroin epidemic began in 2014. They sheltered a total of 179 children in 2013, 387 in 2014 and 349 through July.

The record month coincides with other numbers that illustrate a heroin crisis in Manatee County. Overdoses increased by 109 percent just between June and July, from 124 to 259. And before the surge in July, suspected overdose calls had already increased by 106 percent, from 339 in 2013 to 700 in 2014 -- a mark shattered in 2015.

As of the end of July, there have been 918 overdose calls, according to Manatee County Emergency Medical Services.

The issue of increased child removal is not unique to Manatee County -- there has been a 25 percent increase statewide, Ruiz said. But a lack of funds for treatment centers such as Centerstone Florida is making the problem worse.

"It's very disastrous to not have treatment readily available for parents, because the children have to be in temporary care longer and be separated from their parents," she said.

Parents with addictions are priorities on Centerstone's treatment waiting list.

Shingledecker said they commonly don't know about child neglect until a parent has overdosed with their children on the scene.

"These people are getting Narcan and being taken to the hospital," she said. "Then they leave four or five children there, so we're called in."

Children and their parents are assessed by a judge, who decides if a parent's custody will be fully terminated or not. Typically the children are taken away temporarily and placed in the foster system as the parents seek help. Ruiz said they try to make addicts achieve 18 months of sobriety before reconnecting them with their children.

Shingledecker said they first try to connect children with a relative before looking to foster care, but that most substance abuse cases leave children without any stable or dependable relatives.

"People can help with this. If they've ever thought about being a foster parent, they should get training," Ruiz said. "We've never needed them more than we do right now."

Lucia Branton, director of media and external affairs at the Safe Children's Coalition, says they are struggling to find enough foster homes to place children.

"We need homes that can understand trauma in children. Some of these children were born addicted," she said. "We need committed foster homes so we don't cause further trauma to these children."

Foster parent training is three months long, Branton said, and involves training on dealing with traumatized children and differences in acceptable discipline for foster parents compared to biological parents.

The county and the coalition also inspect the home before matching children with specific families.

The problem is even worse because the demographic for heroin addicts is trending mainly among those between the ages of 20 and 39 years old, with 65 percent of overdose calls between January and June in Manatee County for people in that age group. Ruiz said most of the people in her treatment center are in their 20s, compared to a few years ago when almost everyone was in their 40s.

"When the addicts tend to be younger people, that means they have younger children," Ruiz said.

Shingledecker said many recent cases of child shelter have involved children 5 and younger. Part of that is due to increased risk, since that is the age group least able to care for themselves.

Centerstone Florida is the only Manatee County addiction treatment center that offers detoxification, inpatient treatment and outpatient treatment to addicts. Ruiz said they need more funding if they're going to reunite children with sober parents as quickly as possible, and that money for detoxification services isn't enough.

Shingledecker called the issue a "huge problem," and said more treatment must be available so biological parents can get help, become stable and be reunited with their children.

"Every report I read is particularly tragic, because these people are overdosing with their children in the room. They pass out with needles still in their arms, and the children are banging on the doors and screaming and crying," Shingledecker said. "Sometimes the children are the ones calling it in, can you imagine? It's terrible."

Kate Irby, Herald online/political reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7055 You can follow her on Twitter @KateIrby

This story was originally published August 7, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Heroin epidemic fuels spike in number of Manatee County children removed from their homes."