Pubdate: Tue, 11 Mar 2003 Source: Tennessean, The (TN) Copyright: 2003 The Tennessean Contact: http://www.tennessean.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/447 Author: Bill Poovey METH-MAKING PARENTS LOSING CUSTODY OF THEIR KIDS CHATTANOOGA - An increasing number of Tennessee parents caught cooking poisonous chemicals to make methamphetamine and using the drug to get high are paying a big price: custody of their children. The state has taken 488 children from parents caught making or using the illegal, addictive stimulant since Jan. 1, 2002, according to the Tennessee Department of Children's Services' first such report. The children, who can be removed immediately from their parents, are then placed with foster parents or relatives who can pass state evaluations and home inspections. Some meth users lose custody of their children permanently. Of the meth-related removals of children, 273 were in rural Grundy, Marion, Sequatchie, Bledsoe, Bradley, Franklin, McMinn, Meigs, Rhea and Polk counties in Southeast Tennessee. The mountainous region has seen a rapid rise in meth use and manufacture during the past few years. Experts say the drug is more prevalent in sparsely populated communities because it is easier to hide the offensive odor of the labs. ''I don't think that in reality they really don't love their kids anymore,'' said Diane Easterly, the department's team coordinator for Grundy, Franklin and Marion counties. ''It is on a different wavelength. They just don't think. This poses such a risk to children. You are just cooking poison.'' Vapors from cooking meth can cause respiratory problems, headaches, nausea, rashes and sores. Exposure to fumes can cause loss of consciousness and even death, and the labs sometimes explode and burn. Long-term meth use can create paranoia and hallucinations. A year-old state law is making it easier to remove children who are exposed to meth making by defining such cases as severe child abuse. Clothing, toys and other belongings are considered contaminated by such exposure. And when parents are arrested, often at night, children are forced to leave home with nothing. Contaminated belongings must be removed by workers wearing gas masks and protective suits. An Appalachia region High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area report shows 388 meth labs were raided in Tennessee last year, up from 353 in 2001 and 168 the previous year. The report showed 300 meth labs were raided in Kentucky and 41 in West Virginia last year. About 10,000 children are in the custody of Tennessee's foster-care system. Children removed because of meth The state of Tennessee removed 488 children from parents in 2002 because of methamphetamine use or exposure. Here's where the removals occurred: Northeast region 1 Davidson County 2 Lewis County 5 Shelby County 10 South Central region 11 Mid-Cumberland region 11 East region 18 Southwest region 34 Upper Cumberland 123 Southeast region 273 - - Associated Press - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens