Pubdate: Wed, 07 Mar 2007 Source: Tri-City News (Port Coquitlam, CN BC) Copyright: 2007 Tri-City News Contact: http://www.tricitynews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1239 Author: Kevin Diakiw B.C. MUST PROTECT GROW OP KIDS - SOCIAL WORKERS New Alberta legislation protecting kids found in marijuana grow operations has caught the attention of social workers who continue to ask for stronger protocols for B.C. Last December, Alberta passed the Drug-Endangered Children Act, which establishes that having kids in a grow op or meth lab environment can be considered abuse. An association representing social workers in this province said similar guidelines are needed here. "We liked that they were succinct in their naming of having children in commercial grow ops," said Paul Jenkinson, B.C. Association of Social Workers, Child Welfare and Family Committee Chair. "If you're a social worker in Alberta, you have a much better direction, I think, in how serious this is." The issue of kids in drug homes is becoming increasingly important in Surrey, where a new grow op team is doubling in size. Fire Chief Len Garis believes this city's estimated 1,300 grow operations could include up to 300 homes with children living in dangerous conditions. "There's at least five risks of having kids in marijuana grow ops, and they're not small," Jenkinson said Monday. "Sometimes I wonder about the ministry's failure to address this clearly." The association began lobbying the province last year for clear protocols on what to do when a child is found in a grow op. Nothing has changed, Jenkinson said. "Not a thing, and that's very disappointing." In its first year, Surrey's new grow op busting team found 80 homes containing a total of 155 children living in hazardous conditions. In each case where children were found, the team reported to the children and families ministry. Officials told Black Press last year all such cases are investigated, but couldn't say how many, if any, kids were removed from the home. Garis believes one in five of the remaining homes will also have children, representing almost 300 new reports to the ministry. Ministry officials said child protection workers follow a provincial legislation which doesn't specifically address kids found in grow operations. Section 13 of the Child, Family and Community Services Act indicates a child can be removed from a home "if the child has been, or is likely to be," harmed physically, sexually, emotionally, or if the child is deprived of necessary care or abandoned. The minister responsible has said that's sufficient to deal with the problem. Jenkinson disagrees. "The act is not designed to specifically address emerging social problems," Jenkinson said. While he isn't prepared to embrace the Alberta model entirely, he said it provides good direction. "Some excellent language, naming it as abuse and child endangerment, which really gives social workers clear direction that you have to do clear and comprehensive work around grow ops," Jenkinson said. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek