skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Report: Opioid Crisis Hit 54 of every 1,000 Kids in WV

play audio
Play

Thursday, November 21, 2019   

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – West Virginia has the nation's largest share of children who face devastating consequences linked to the opioid crisis, according to a new report.

Research by the United Hospital Fund in New York shows that 54 out of every 1,000 children in the Mountain State were impacted by opioid use in 2017.

That's at least twice the rate of the national average.

Sam Hickman, executive director of the National Association of Social Workers West Virginia Chapter, says he's not surprised by the numbers.

He points out that the crisis came out of drugs flooding the market and the fact that the state's traditional job offerings, such as coal mining, are hard on a worker's body, which eventually leads to the need for pain management.

"At the same time, we had predatory policies on the part of pharmaceutical industries and prescribers, in some cases, to make sure that these drugs were available to them, and these drugs were highly addictive," he states.

The report also shows that almost 1.5 million children in the United States have a parent living with opioid addiction, and 170,000 children are themselves addicted to opiates or have accidentally ingested them.

Researchers say that even though the opioid crisis is the deadliest drug epidemic in the nation's history, its long-term impact on children hasn't gotten enough attention.

The report finds that children who have parents on opioids are more likely to develop an alcohol or drug disorder and more likely to need special education.

It also points out that West Virginia will need about $4 billion in services for children in need.

Hickman says the state is far from prepared for handling the repercussions of the years-long crisis.

"The state absolutely does not have the resources to support once the crisis is coming as children begin to grow older, to come into our school system,” Hickman states. “We're already dealing with difficult behaviors and teachers and other school professionals just not having the resources or the numbers to deal with them effectively."

If current trends continue, the report says, the number of children affected nationwide by opioid use will rise to more than 4 million by 2030, costing an estimated $400 billion in support services.

Disclosure: NASW West Virginia Chapter contributes to our fund for reporting on Children's Issues, Health Issues, Mental Health. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021