Pubdate: Wed, 14 Jan 2009 Source: Maui News, The (HI) Copyright: 2009 The Maui News Contact: http://www.mauinews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2259 Author: Claudine San Nicolas Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) WE'RE REALLY LUCKY Two Escape Health Defects Associated With Drug Babies WAILUKU - Lisa Parker knows the toll that drug addiction takes on families, and she advocates birth control as a way to stop drug babies from being born. Parker, 49, has seven children, one of whom has been in and out of drug-rehabilitation programs on Maui and Oahu for addiction to crystal methamphetamine. The 27-year-old daughter is enrolled now in a Big Island rehab program. The woman has two children, both of whom were taken into custody by Child Protective Services. Parker fought successfully to gain guardianship of both girls: 5-year-old Ceselie Anne Kihoi and 2-year-old Rita Marie Rodarte. "I wouldn't ever call them a burden, but it is hard," said Parker, who has five other daughters and a son ranging in age from 14 to 32. They are thriving in school or full-time jobs, including military service. Fortunately, Parker's granddaughters escaped the adverse health effects usually associated with drug babies, such as low birth weight, developmental delays and permanent disabilities. "We're really lucky," she said. But the girls suffer the emotional trauma of not having their mother and father to care for them. Ceselie Anne often has nightmares, waking up in tears and crying out for her mother. Both girls have had virtually no contact with their fathers, and in the few times they've visited their mother, she hasn't been able to care for or make a maternal connection with her children, Parker said. "It's just not fair to the kids," Parker said. About three years ago, Parker's oldest daughter, a 32-year-old mother of two, learned about Project Prevention, a program founded by a North Carolina woman, who had adopted four children suffering from the effects of their mother's drug addictions. The program pays drug-addicted men and women $300 to use various methods of birth control. The program has paid about 2,800 addicts and/or alcoholics, mostly women, in 39 states and the District of Columbia over 10 years of operation. Project Prevention is funded by private foundations and individuals supporting the program's mission to reduce the number of substance-exposed births to zero. "Many children with mothers addicted to alcohol and drugs end up in foster care, and their lives and sometimes health are often ruined because of the addiction," Project Prevention founding Director Barbara Harris said in a telephone interview from North Carolina. Harris said supporters have called Project Prevention "the most common-sense approach" to addressing the birth problems of drug-affected babies. Project Prevention gets no state or government funding, according to Harris. The program reached Maui, thanks in part to Parker and her oldest daughter, who spent many hours communicating by phone and e-mail to persuade Harris to bring Project Prevention here. For various reasons, Harris was unable to travel to Hawaii until late last year, when the first Maui County woman agreed to have an intrauterine device, or IUD, implanted to prevent pregnancy. Project Prevention's first Maui recipient is a 23-year-old mother of two, who asked to remain anonymous but granted permission to her family support worker, Saudina Torres of Maui Family Support Services, to discuss the case. Torres explained that her job is to connect families at risk with community resources to help them gain better control of their lives. The 23-year-old program participant had asked for family-planning help after giving birth to her second child two months ago. The woman told Torres she was seeking long-term birth control but did not have the money to pay for it. Torres made inquiries with Project Prevention after seeing the materials that Harris, Parker and Parker's daughter had distributed to 15 to 20 Maui human-service agencies in December. Torres said the decision to get help from Project Prevention ultimately belonged to her program participant. "I give her education about everything she wants to do. She chooses in the end what she wants to do," she said. Torres, who's been at her job for about 2 years, said she believes all families should be educated about their options and have control over how they want to approach family planning. Parker said she still hopes her daughter, who's been taking drugs since she was a teenager, someday will be able to cope with her addiction and assume custody of her children. In the meantime, Parker said she and her oldest daughter believe the 27-year-old woman will need at least five years to recover and should be allowed to be paid for a one-time birth-control option. Parker said she was happy to see someone was benefiting from Project Prevention. "I think it's great someone picked up the phone and utilized it. That's one less child being neglected, going into foster care," she said. "There's probably more out there. They just don't know about it." Harris said she's heard criticism about her program during the decade it's been running. "Some people call it a bribe. We call it preventing abuse," she said. Harris said she hasn't heard a legitimate reason yet for a drug addict or alcoholic to get pregnant. "What I normally say to those who oppose our work is: 'If you believe these women have the right to have as many children as they want, regardless of the fact that they aren't able to raise them, then you better be ready to step up and adopt a few,' " she said. Harris said she tried to get legislation that would mandate drug-addicted women be on birth control but was unsuccessful. Project Prevention then was established. Parker said she would not be surprised if some of the women used Project Prevention's $300 payments to support their drug habits. "They might as well have birth control while they're on drugs," she said. Prospective participants must call Project Prevention's toll-free number and register before becoming eligible to get birth control. Participants must be 18 to 45 years old and provide a verifiable history of drug or alcohol addiction. Proof of following through with a birth-control procedure also must be provided. For more information about Project Prevention, visit Web site www.projectprevention.org or call (888) 302-7225. - --- MAP posted-by: Doug