What is a Drug Endangered Child?
"A drug endangered child is a person, under the age of 18, who lives in or is exposed to an environment where drugs, including pharmaceuticals, are illegally used, possessed, trafficked, diverted, and/or manufactured and, as a result of that environment: the child experiences, or is at risk of experiencing, physical, sexual, or emotional abuse; the child experiences, or is at risk of experiencing, medical, educational, emotional, or physical harm, including harm resulting or possibly resulting from neglect; or the child is forced to participate in illegal or sexual activity in exchange for drugs or in exchange for money likely to be used to purchase drugs."
-Federal Interagency Task Force for
Drug Endangered Children (2010)
The Florida Alliance for Drug Endangered Children advocates intervention on behalf of these children and urges communities to build collaborative, effective teams to provide coordinated services and support for these child victims. These teams include first responders, child protective services, law enforcement, medical and mental health professionals, prosecutors and county attorneys, child advocates, substance abuse treatment providers, and other community leaders, as well as the general public.
The mission of the Florida DEC program is to identify and protect the children, and to identify, provide and improve services utilizing the criminal justice system, law enforcement, child welfare and other community agencies with the goal of improving outcomes for these children.