Washington State Drug Endangered Children (DEC) programs are a coordinated and collaborative approach to assist communities in dealing with the impact of the abuse of our state’s children. Many of these children are living in filthy conditions, some are exposed to toxic chemicals, and large numbers of them are neglected and abused.

In Washington State, we are all very concerned about children who are found at meth sites, but we are equally concerned about the effect that the parent or caretaker's drug use has on the well being of the children. While meth labs may be on the decline in our state, the use of meth and other drugs is on the increase. The use of these illegal substances has resulted in a very significant increase in the number of families who have been referred to Child Protective Services. These children need to be protected from not only their parent's drug use, but mostly from the side effects which range from physical abuse to sexual abuse, and pervasive profound neglect. These children are not growing up healthy. They fail in school in larger numbers, they are rejected by their peers, they have more mental health issues and they have parents who model abusive and neglectful behaviors for them. These are our adults and parents of the future!