Part A - Society for Public Health Education

Children exposed to meth labs may display the following symptoms:• red and itchy eyes• chronic cough• skin rashes or burns• chronic respiratory problems• reliance on an inhaler• body odor of chemicals• clothes that smell like cat urineChildren with long-term exposure to meth labs may display the following:• learning disabilities• delayed speech and language skills• malnutrition• meth addiction• kidney, liver, and spleen damage• erratic sleeping habits• neurological damage© 2007 Society for Public Health EducationResponsePersonnel who respond to meth lab seizures and who conduct investigations may befrom any of the law enforcement, social services, prosecution, environmental health,or medical disciplines. These personnel usually respond according to their ownagency’s protocols and, in most instances where multidisciplinary teams have notbeen established, operate independently. A coordinated multidisciplinary responsefor children found at meth labs may help ensure that all the needs of each child aremet and that evidence is gathered to support the management and prosecution ofeach case. When jurisdictions do not coordinate their responses to these complicatedscenes, personnel can overlook children’s needs or assume another agency willaddress these needs, fail to remove children from conditions of endangerment, orfail to gather adequate evidence to substantiate appropriate endangerment and otherlegal charges. Coordinated multidisciplinary investigations enhance informationgathering, evidence integrity, and comprehensive counseling and treatment servicesfor children and their families.Part A: An Educational Toolkit for Health Educators47