THE Division of Youth Services attributes the alarming increase in the number of children, including newborns, testing positive for methamphetamine or “ice” to the proliferation of the drug.
“Meth is just around.” This is the answer that Child Protective Services Intervention Acting Supervisor Mariah Barcinas gets whenever she asks clients where they got “ice.” In fiscal year 2024, six newborns tested positive for methamphetamine.
On Wednesday, Barcinas, DYS Administrator Vivian Sablan and case worker Juanicia Villanueva shared data with the public indicating an increase in drug use cases in homes and the number of affected children.
From 24 cases affecting 74 children in FY 2023, the number of drug use cases in homes went up to 40, affecting 119 children in FY 2024.
“I ask my clients where they get the meth, and they said from family members. They also told us it is very easy to get meth now. For only $20,” Barcinas said.
In a report that DYS presented on Wednesday, substance abuse was the leading contributing factor in the increasing cases handled by the division.
Sablan said at 10:55 p.m. Tuesday, they received a call reporting that another newborn tested positive for methamphetamine.
She stated that in such cases, the Department of Public Safety will conduct an investigation. DYS will also carry out its own probe, which involves child forensic interviews conducted in the presence of DPS officers.
After the investigation is completed, the case is forwarded to the Office of the Attorney General, Sablan said.
“The heavy load is on us because that’s when the case management comes in. It involves a lot of monitoring,” Sablan said.
“We are very much involved because we deal with lives,” she added.
Barcinas said DYS works closely with the OAG, the Judiciary’s Family Court and the Drug Court “to look at what the real issue is, and we go from there.”
