[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 92 (Friday, July 14, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S7553]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


    IMPROVING OUTCOMES OF CHILDREN AFFECTED BY ``METH'' ACT OF 2006

  Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, the Senate has passed an important 
bill, Chairman Grassley's Improving Outcomes for Children Affected by 
``Meth'' Act of 2006. This legislation will reauthorize the Safe and 
Stable Families Program and target $40 million in new funding to 
programs to help children affected by methamphetamine abuse and 
addiction.
  West Virginia, like all too many States, is facing severe problems 
with a methamphetamine epidemic. There is by all reports a rapid spread 
and growth of this pernicious addiction. SAMSHA reports that 
methamphetamine abuse has increased more than 420 percent for persons 
12 years and older during the past decade. And according to a well-
cited National Association of Counties survey, the epidemic is no 
longer targeting rural States like my own. Much to my dismay we are 
finding addicts in suburban high schools as well as urban areas. 
Addicts are white and blue collar workers and the unemployed who are in 
their twenties or thirties. Use is equally divided among males and 
females.
  The legislation offered today is part of the reauthorization for the 
Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program. Our child welfare system 
relies on the principles and services mandated by Safe and Stable 
Families Programs. I have wholeheartedly worked on this program since 
its inception in 1993. I have continued over the years to support 
modifications that fit the changing needs of the children.
  It is essential that our most vulnerable children remain safe and 
that they find emergency placements and permanent homes. Programs such 
as Foster Care remain a foundational safeguard for children. Children 
find refuge in foster homes when they are placed in harm's way due to 
neglect or abuse. Permanence of placement represents an enduring goal 
of Safe and Stable. This objective provides a child the hope of living 
conditions that support physical and psychological health. The Safe and 
Stable Programs ultimately assist with decisions about family 
reunification and adoption.
  Of course, there remains a lot more work to be done. Our foster care 
system is overburdened. There is all too often a lack of coordination 
among agencies and services that serve children and their families. And 
currently many programs are especially stressed by the expanding and 
invasive problems brought on by the next generation of illicit drugs. 
Right now our children need more help.
  The goals of Improving Outcomes for Children Affected by ``Meth'' Act 
are consistent with the spirit and design of the Promoting Safe and 
Stable Families Programs. This act targets the growing problems caused 
by a cheaply made, easily available, lethal drug.
  The facts are, to say the least, extremely disturbing. The National 
Association of Counties survey points to the rise of out-of-home 
placements due to methamphetamine addiction by as much as 71 percent in 
California counties and 70 percent in responding Colorado counties. 
This year in Montana, State officials reported at least 50 percent of 
child abuse and neglect cases involved methamphetamine abuse. I know 
that in southern West Virginia alone there have been over 100 
laboratory busts since October, 2005. And according to a survey by the 
Rebecca Project, over 10,000 children in the U.S. were either present 
at a lab seizure or lived where the lab was seized between 2000 and 
2003. These labs produce 5 pounds of toxic waste as a result of 
producing 1 pound of methamphetamine. There are too many children in 
harm's way.
  This bill creates new competitive grants to support regional 
partnerships that provide services to children who are affected by 
their caretakers' methamphetamine abuses. The bill reserves $40 million 
to fund these grants.
  I know that these grants are not a cure-all, but this legislation is 
a firm step in the right direction in several ways. First, regional 
demonstration projects can further identify intervention models that 
are showing some good results. We also are on the mark when we 
encourage community health care providers, law enforcement agencies, 
judges, and statewide child welfare agencies to form more coherent and 
efficient partnerships. These grants can target innovative prevention 
programs that reach at-risk children before out-of-home placements are 
necessary. Finally the grants are available for innovative family-based 
programs, comprehensive long-term treatment services, and counseling 
for the children. It is good that the Senate has passed this 
legislation, and we need to work with the House to secure passage of a 
final bill that can be signed into law by the President this year.

                          ____________________