Special Series

Western States Face Spikes in Drug Use, Foster Care

At an August 2016 campaign stop, President Donald Trump made the opioid crisis part of the dismal portrait of America he purported to change.

“We’re going to take all of these kids … that are totally addicted and they can’t break it,” he promised at a Columbus, Ohio, town hall meeting. “We’re going to work with them, we’re going to spend the money, we’re gonna get that habit broken.”

Trump is right that kids are at the center of the opioid crisis. But not because they are the ones doing most of the drugs.

4/25/2017

Western States Face Spikes in Drug Use, Foster Care

John Kelly

Last August at a campaign stop, President Donald Trump made the opioid crisis part of the dismal portrait of America he purported to change. “We’re going to take all of these kids … that are totally addicted and they can’t break it,” he promised at a Columbus, Ohio, town hall meeting.

4/26/2017

Pregnant Women, Newborns on Front Lines of Arizona’s Opioid Epidemic

Jonathan Polakoff

When Jessica Sanchez tested positive last year for heroin, her probation officer sent her to an Arizona detox center for treatment. But before Sanchez could be admitted, she needed to take a pregnancy test.

4/27/2017

Pregnant Moms Face Generations of Poverty and Addiction in New Mexico

Zachary Siegel

The rate of drug-exposed newborns is spiking across New Mexico, as are entries into the foster care system. Is there a link?  While being examined by a gynecologist, a pregnant Doralee Urban did her utmost to keep calm and hide the track marks dotting her arms and neck.

4/28/2017

Battling Meth: A Rural Montana County is on the Frontline of National Foster Care Surge

Daniel Heimpel

When James Manley came to rural Lake County, Montana, as a district judge in 2013, he knew the meth problem was bad, but he didn’t know how much worse it would get.