Arizona's Drug Endangered Children Program

Training and Technical Assistance

Program Protocol
Training Tools
DEC Training Program
How to Start a DEC Team in 10 Easy Steps
Additional Resources

DEC RV

Program Protocol

The protocol on this site has been developed in Maricopa County and is available to other jurisdictions that wish to adopt or adapt it for their own use. Click here to view the Protocol.

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Training Tools

PowerPoint Presentation
Responding to Arizona's Methamphetamine Crisis, by Mark Evans, January 2005

Videos
Drug Endangered Children Video - Real Media
Drug Endangered Children Video - Flash Player
Drug Endangered Children Video - Windows Media Video
Drug Endangered Children Video (Spanish) - Flash Player
Drug Endangered Children Video (Spanish) - Windows Media Video

Methamphetamines & Children Don't Mix: It's Child Abuse - Real Media
Methamphetamines & Children Don't Mix: It's Child Abuse - Flash Player
Methamphetamines & Children Don't Mix: It's Child Abuse - Windows Media Video
(Courtesy of the Phoenix Police Department)

Posters
Arizona Drug Endangered Children Program Poster (in PDF)
Arizona Drug Endangered Children Program Poster (in JPG)

Resources
Arizona Drug Endangered Children Protocol
Glossary
Meth Fact Sheet

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DEC Training Program

The Attorney General’s Office collaborates with other professionals throughout the State and nationwide. Through a multidisciplinary approach, they offer the following courses to police, DES CPS case workers and managers, fire fighters, nurses and doctors, emergency medical technicians, probation officers and attorneys:

Introduction to a Meth Lab
A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Abuse Investigation
Medical Considerations and Issues
Legal Considerations

Through its training component, the Arizona DEC Program works to achieve the following objectives:

Increase the knowledge of professionals involved with drug-endangered children
Enhance the skills of those involved with drug-endangered children
Increase the use of a multi-disciplinary response approach to drug-endangered children
Standardize the medical evaluation and follow-up care of drug-endangered children
Increase the use of a uniform protocol to aid in the investigation and prosecution of cases involving drug-endangered children

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How to Start a DEC Team in 10 Easy Steps

Consider possible team members from each CORE agency in your locale: DES CPS, prosecutor's office, law enforcement and medical personnel. Find individuals who are interested in child endangerment and illicit drug manufacturing and/or trafficking and like multidisciplinary work.
Schedule regular times for team meetings and decide how you will coordinate communications (i.e., email, phone, fax, interoffice mail, etc.). Consistently structured meetings are initially needed to develop team cohesion and establish working relationships. Clear communication and participation with agency supervisors and signed Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) are usually required.
Hold regular meetings. Cross-train among team members so each member has a clear sense of what other team members from different disciplines do. Familiarize yourselves with the philosophies, departmental policies and hierarchies of your own and other team member agencies. Each team member needs answers to the following:
- What are Team goals?
- What is each member required to do when arriving at a drug scene?
- When encountering a child?
- What are team priorities in handling a case?
Develop protocols as a team for what should happen during an intervention at a drug-producing/trafficking home with children. First, all existing core agencies protocols must be gathered, reviewed and analyzed to see what is already in place. Next, determine what needs to be changed to facilitate the Team's work and what might impede Team goals. With buy-in, approval of each agency, the Team should then develop a unified DEC Team protocol.
Distribute draft protocols among agency colleagues for input/feedback. Revise protocols with reviews and comments. Re-review FINAL DRAFT protocol with all relevant agencies. Finalize protocol with approval by Core Team member agencies. Publish the protocol with a date and caveat that it will be modified as experience and circumstances demonstrate the need to do so.
Identify Team member needs for additional formal and informal training (i.e., shadowing/ride alongs, etc.). Seek additional assistance and training from relevant agencies and outside sources.
Identify key "auxiliary" agencies that your Team wants involved in DEC cases that need DEC training. These may include medical/health care providers; mental health providers; fire personnel; emergency medical services; hazardous materials team staff; foster parents; probation/parole officers; school personnel; drug treatment providers; domestic violence service providers; and criminal and juvenile court personnel. Meet with identified parties to explain DEC and schedule and provide training.
Outreach to service providers to assist DEC children and families. Be aware of service delivery gaps in your community. Establish additional MOUs with auxiliary agencies to better serve DEC cases and build support for multidisciplinary and comprehensive interventions.
Develop a locally relevant training module that DEC Team members can present to non-DEC agencies and organizations for outreach and/or education at the local level to build community support for DEC Team work and to assist in prevention efforts.
Develop a way to monitor the progress of your program and effectiveness of your protocols. Intermittently discuss how the DEC process can be improved. Discuss what is working well and provide praise. Look at what is not working and make the necessary adjustments.

(Source: Drug Endangered Children Resource Center, 2001)

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Additional Resources

The following links are provided for easy access to additional resources. The inclusion of a link on this Web site does not constitute an official endorsement, guarantee or approval.

Arizona Governor's Office for Children Youth and Families
Arizona Drug Endangered Children (DEC) Tribal Training Program
Drug Endangered Children Resources and Training Materials
Morgan Hester
602.364.3542
mhester@az.gov

Arizona Meth Project
602.372.METH (602.372.6384) Maricopa County
1.866.773.8999 Toll Free Outside Maricopa County