Families feeling toll of drug addiction
County Jail also filled to capacity with drug users
Jeffrey Felton
MEDINA – Drug addiction continues to take a heavy toll on families in Medina County.
Job and Family Services Director Jeff Felton said his agency took custody of children in 38 families last year, 70 percent of those cases due to drug-addicted parents who were no longer capable of caring for them.
Felton said the number of Medina County children in foster care dropped briefly to 65 at the end of 2016 but began climbing again in January.
He told county commissioners Jan. 24 that the previous day his agency took possession of two preschool-age children who were unattended while their mother lay unconscious nearby.
He also said his agency has been seeing more cases of children with injuries and broken bones. Felton attributes most of the child neglect and abuse cases he sees to parents with drug problems.
The drug problem in Medina County continues to grow despite what County Commissioner Adam Friedrick called a “sizeable amount of effort and money” committed to the drug addiction issue.
Tadd Davis, an agent with the Medina County Drug Task Force, reports drug overdoses in Medina County rose from 128 in 2015 to 258 in 2016. Deaths from those overdoses rose from 20 in 2015 to 34 in 2016.
Chief Probation Officer Veronica Perry estimates illicit drugs factor into more than 80 percent of the cases her department handles. About 1,000 people a year are under the supervision of the Adult Probation Department or undergo screening prior to their sentencing in court.
Felton said opiate addiction is a difficult problem that seems nearly impossible to overcome.
“Most people relapse even after going through rehab,” he said. “The longest we’ve seen any of our cases avoid relapse was a little over two years.”
Sheriff Tom Miller has also been forced to reopen a pod at the Medina County Jail to accommodate additional prisoners, mainly those who committed drug-related crimes. County Administrator Scott Miller estimates keeping the pod open all year would add up to $500,000 to the operating expenses at the facility.
The county has gotten some help in dealing with the drug epidemic from the state. Perry said a new $520,000 grant from the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections is helping to pay for housing prisoners at the jail as well as drug screening and counseling programs while they are inmates.
Perry said a key element of the grant is the funding it provides for medication for those who are addicted to opiates. She said the Vivitrol injections paid for with grant funds can be the best chance recovering opiate addicts have to avoid a relapse.
Job and Family Services Director Jeff Felton said his agency took custody of children in 38 families last year, 70 percent of those cases due to drug-addicted parents who were no longer capable of caring for them.
Felton said the number of Medina County children in foster care dropped briefly to 65 at the end of 2016 but began climbing again in January.
He told county commissioners Jan. 24 that the previous day his agency took possession of two preschool-age children who were unattended while their mother lay unconscious nearby.
He also said his agency has been seeing more cases of children with injuries and broken bones. Felton attributes most of the child neglect and abuse cases he sees to parents with drug problems.
The drug problem in Medina County continues to grow despite what County Commissioner Adam Friedrick called a “sizeable amount of effort and money” committed to the drug addiction issue.
Tadd Davis, an agent with the Medina County Drug Task Force, reports drug overdoses in Medina County rose from 128 in 2015 to 258 in 2016. Deaths from those overdoses rose from 20 in 2015 to 34 in 2016.
Chief Probation Officer Veronica Perry estimates illicit drugs factor into more than 80 percent of the cases her department handles. About 1,000 people a year are under the supervision of the Adult Probation Department or undergo screening prior to their sentencing in court.
Felton said opiate addiction is a difficult problem that seems nearly impossible to overcome.
“Most people relapse even after going through rehab,” he said. “The longest we’ve seen any of our cases avoid relapse was a little over two years.”
Sheriff Tom Miller has also been forced to reopen a pod at the Medina County Jail to accommodate additional prisoners, mainly those who committed drug-related crimes. County Administrator Scott Miller estimates keeping the pod open all year would add up to $500,000 to the operating expenses at the facility.
The county has gotten some help in dealing with the drug epidemic from the state. Perry said a new $520,000 grant from the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections is helping to pay for housing prisoners at the jail as well as drug screening and counseling programs while they are inmates.
Perry said a key element of the grant is the funding it provides for medication for those who are addicted to opiates. She said the Vivitrol injections paid for with grant funds can be the best chance recovering opiate addicts have to avoid a relapse.