Will go into withdrawal and get very, very sick. Its hard to watch. This is what opioid addiction looks like. It has been ebonys life for 15 years. Its like this every [ bleep ] time. I get [ bleep ] as [ bleep ]. Now, shes got someone else to think about. A reason why starting tomorrow, ebony will try to get clean. Across town, a couple is caring for a 3monthold infant. This is ebonys baby. Not long ago, mothers like ebony didnt get second chances. In some parts of the country, things are changing. The states funding for Child Protective Services is the lowest in the nation. The way they had been doing it was not working. Ohio is at the center of americas opioid crisis. Thousands of parents struggling with addiction have left a generation of children displaced and a system overwellhelmed. The kids have been the collateral damage. Now, ohioans inside and outside the system are stepping up. To give the youngest victims of the crisis a fighting chance. I didnt want to end up like my mom or dad. Help parents get their kids back. I know for a fact that im going to be in a place where this isnt my life. Who is ready to go . America has been engulfed in an Opioid Epidemic for over a decade. Americans are getting their fix from pharmacies and medicine cabinets at home. Doctors overprescribing pain pills. Drug cartels flooding small towns with cheap heroin and a seemingly endless wave of overdose deaths. People do desperate things once addicted. The path to recovery is long. Sometimes seeming lly impossibl. Opioid addiction kills people and destroys families. One of the hardest hit states in the country, ohio, is trying to deal with the fallout. We rarely hear about the youngest victims of the crisis, the kids of opioid addicts and the babies born addicted to opioids. We are currently in a state had a has been hit very, very hard. We are going to see what theyre doing about what has become an entire generation of kids. At the height of the epidemic, ohio ranked dead last in funding for child welfare. Safe places for children of addicted parents were scarce. Just outside dayton, a nursery has been created for the most vulnerab vulnerable. We are at the first and only infant Recovery Center in the state of ohio. Its called bridges path. They essentially wean babies off of heroin and other drugs at birth. The baby behind me was born about a month ago. His mother has just been released from jail today and is coming to see her baby for the First Time Since she had him. Just days after she gave birth to her son carter, chelsea was arrested for possession. Shes been locked up for 30 out of the 40 days of his life. In the past, chelsea would have gone back to the streets. Carter may have gone into the faster care system. Today, shes headed to bridges path for an unlikely reunion. Because chelsea was using while pregnant, carter was born with neonatal abstinence syndrome. He is perfect. These babies are born exposed to drugs in utero. They start to have signs of withdrawal, like adults do. This Nurse Practitioner is responsible for overseeing newborns as they arrive. A baby who is suffering from withdrawal may wake up, start screaming, get startled and then they start shaking. They will scratch. They will be frantic. Unless you break that cycle, then it continues and escalates. When adults experience withdrawal, often they will be put on other medication. Do you do that with babies as well . Our primary medications are methadone and morphine. They get a larger dose first and then each day you decrease the dosing. In 2018, almost 2,000 babies exposed to opioids were delivered in the state of ohio. What makes this unit different from hospitals is that they keep moms and dads close. Even if they are still struggling with addiction. Its never just the baby. Its the entiere family that needs to be cared for. What have the last few years been like . It was bad. The only way i could get clean is going to jail. Are you saying you were happy you got arrested after you had your baby . Mmhmm. Its up to chelsea to keep up her recovery. Car peter remains under the carf staff. Its still a new experiment. Under the license, they can only take care of each baby for 90 days. For some parents, its just not enough time to get clean. Right now, we are on our way to meet a woman whose baby completed 90 days. The mom is apparently desperately trying to get custody of her baby. We hear that she is currently struggling. We will see how shes doing. The first memory i have of my mom, i remember going to visit this woman in prison. I was told i had to call her mom. I remember, like, being scared. No. Even as i got older, i remember how it affected her, her kid didnt know her. Okay. Drugs have been a part of 32yearold ebonys life since she was a little girl. Her mother and brother have overdosed. She herself has been addicted to opioids for 15 years. During other visit, shes preparing her next dose. When did you shoot up for the first time . Do you remember. First time i did heroin, i was 18. They put it in a needle. I remember feeling like my head just separated from my body. It was like i puked for days. I hated it. But i kept going back to it. You dont have to watch it. Im not watching it. If ebony doesnt shoot up every eight hours, she will experience extreme anxiety, nausea, muscle cramps and other symptoms of withdrawal. I feel it. I will stay and talk to you. Is this what every day is like, trying to figure out how you are going to get drugs into your system . Ebony has been struggling with another role, motherhood. Her 3monthold daughter was born dependent on heroin. Ebony faced with a choice opted into bridges path for another chance. She hasnt been able to get clean. But ebonys time has convinced her to keep trying. She saved my life. Seriously. Shes so cool, dude. Shes got two teeth. She doesnt cry. Shes not like a needy baby. You would never know she was born addicted to drugs. Thank god. In less than 24 hours, ebony is scheduled to start detox. This time, if she doesnt stay in recovery, social services could take mercedes away for good. Im not good for her right now. I know that. But i know that i will be. I know that im going to fight every single day, even if its fighting with my internal self. Which im going to have to do that for the rest of my life. You will go into treatment for more than a month. Yeah. You ready for it . I am. Im ready to not hurt anymore. I hate it. I hate feeling. But thats part of life. When you think about your future for the first time, its hopeful. I deserve that. Mercedes deserves to have me. But not this me. Shes had this me her whole existence. Even before she came in this world. Its like, im ready to stop this me. Since 2011, theres been a 30 jump in kids entering ohios foster care system. Experts say, opioid addiction is to blame. In the majority of cases, kids dont go to specialized places like bridges path. They go straight to foster parents, relatives or to people like jesse and jeff. A couple who volunteer through a Church Program to care for mercedes. Shes a receipretty easy bab. Shes happy. How long have you had her . 2 1 2 years. Given your interaction with ebony, do you think she can do it . Do you think she can mother this baby . Ebony is a smart girl. It takes a lot to admit i need help. Let me get help, get myself together and then assume care of my child. When we went to pick her up, she sent me home with two carloads of stuff. She loves this child. I had the perspective, get your stuff together. But people need help. Worst case, what if this babys mom cant get it together . We dont have much say if ebony cant take care of the baby. Its hard to trust the system that she will be where she needs to go. Were sort of open to seeing where it goes at this point. In the past, with her history of drug abuse, ebony would have had little chance of gaining custody of mercedes. Programs like this and volunteers like jesse and jeff buy these parents valuable time. Across ohio, a shift is underway. Heroin addicts dont get their kids back. They say you cant teach an old dog new tricks. You can. Youre clearly someone. Who takes care of yourself. So why wait to screen for colon cancer . Because when caught in early stages, its more treatable. Im cologuard. Im noninvasive and detect altered dna in your stool to find 92 of colon cancers. Even in early stages. Tell me more. Its for people 45 plus at average risk for colon cancer, not high risk. False positive and negative results may occur. Ask your prescriber or an online prescriber if cologuard is right for you. Ill get on it thats a step in the right direction. 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You might even earn your masters degree in 12 months for under 11,500. Capella unversity. Dont just learn. Learn smarter. Its 8 30 a. M. In downtown dayton. At the Montgomery County juvenile court, a war room has gathered. Lets get started with our first client. Here in the civil court system, they are doing something that would have been unthinkable years ago. Baby is good. Baby is fine. Shes doing well. Judges, social workers and Health Care Work experts are joining forces to help recovering addicts get custody of their children. We have our hearing on the 24th. We will give kos tcustody back. Running the hearing is this magistrate. I appreciate that. We know the foster system should not be parenting children. Parents should be parenting children. Would you say Family Treatment Court is a result of a shift in culture and the way you even define what an opioid addict is . People go, why cant they just stop . Why cant they just quit . Why cant they do this . They lost their kid. Its just not how the brain works, the disease of addiction takes over somebodys life. It takes a whole community to get it back for them. We are close to chris and amanda. On the front lines of the efforts are care workers like mira. Family Treatment Court was the first time i had ever returned a child to a heroin addict. Because heroin addicts dont get their kids back. That was kind of my mindset. Thats what my experience was. It changed how i look at substance abusers and how we can help them. Today, shes taking me to visit two of her clients. A couple in recovery with a baby daughter. Im the stern mom with my clients. You cannot be doing this. You have to get your crap together. If you keep this up, we cant do it. A lot of clients said, i didnt like new the beginning. But you are what i needed. What are you hoping to see . What are you looking for when you do the home visit . Make sure they are on top of their services. If the child is there, i like to see interaction. You kind of try to get the vibe of whats going on in the house. Hello. How are you doing . Good. This is lisa. How are you . Shes hanging with me today. Who is that . A beautiful baby. Its avery. A cute kid. Thank you. Six months ago, chris and amanda were where ebony is now. Their new baby was at bridges path while they battled out addiction. Now they are on a path from a few visits a week to fulltime parenting. How is miss avery today . Shes doing really good. Had a good day. Had a nice nap. Shes been sleeping good. Eating really good. Your mom brought her over earlier for your visit . For amanda and chris, this is a far cry from their old life. Seven years ago, they had kids, jobs and a home. Then, like so Many Americans, they were derailed by doctors prescripti prescriptions. Chris cut his hand and amanda was diagnosed with a joint disorder. They were given percocet. I have energy to go to work and clean and pick the kids up from day care after work and come home and do everything i needed to do. I didnt feel the physical pain at all. It made you feel like you could do anything. At what point did you start to realize, this isnt normal anymore . I happened to run out a few days early. I was like, im in trouble. You are vomiting. You feel nauseous, you cant eat. You are not getting high anymore. You need them to feel normal. Consumed by the need sto stae off withdrawal, they turned to the only option they could afford. Cheap, potent heroin. We tried to rationalize it, tell yourself whatever you need to. It is almost too late. They lost their careers. Their home. And eventually, custody of their two older children. We literally had nowhere to go. We slept outside in bushes. Rock bottom, aphmanmanda lea she was pregnant. She decided recovery was their only choice. If i could take it back and do things different, i would. But i cant. All you can do is try to fix whatever happened and move forward. Now, eight months later, chris and amanda have climbed their way out of the abyss. You are seeing the doctor . Yeah. Like many in the Family Treatment Court, they have been prescribed a drug thats designed to cut opioid cravings and still allow them to function. When they decrease, you worry about am i going to feel any physical affect. If you dont, dont mess around, let them know. Whats the goal . To get custody of avery back. We want to be normal and have our family, have our baby. Its our last chance. I think thats it. It will be up to mira to make a recommendation for averys custody to the magistrate. Both chris and mamanda must proe they are capable of raising a child. You have to change pretty much your whole life. We are working towards that. Trying to. Use is amazing. Great street, huge yard. There is a bit of an issue with our neighbors fencing. Neighbor 1 allez sound from wind chimes neighbor 2 laughing at least geico makes bundling our home and Car Insurance easy. Which helps us save even more. Neighbor 2 hey, sarah, hey, peter neighbor 1 touche. Neighbor 2 ahhh neighbor 1 pret neighbor 2 en garde for bundling made easy, go to geico. Com tonight, ill be eating a veggie cheeseburger on ciabatta, no tomatoes. [hard a] tonight. Ill be eating four cheese tortellini with extra tomatoes. [full emphasis on the soft a] so its come to this . [doorbell chimes] thank you. [doorbell chimes] bravo. Careful, hamill. Daddys not here to save you. Oh i am my daddy. Wait, what . What are you talking about . Just one look at you. And i know its gonna be. A lovely day. Lovely day, lovely day. Lovely day. Lovely day. Lovely day, lovely day. No matter how you celebrate this year, make this holiday extra special with a gift from pandora jewelry. Make this holiday extra special the teams been working around the clock. Wire, weve had to rethink our whole approach. Were going to give togetherness. Logistically, its been a nightmare. Im not sure its going to work. Itll work. I didnt know you were listening. Earlier this week, i met ebony, a young mom struggling with heroin addiction. The last time i saw her, she was in a dark place. This morning, shes checking into a 45day Recovery Program that starts with detox. A full purge of all the drugs in her system. Good morning. Good morning. Shes running behind. But she made it. How are you doing . Im nervous a little bit, for real. Ebony has chosen a treatmen center that allows overnight visitation with her baby daughter. Im inspired you found this place. You searched for a place that would take you and here you are. You want this to be different. Its going to be different. The want is there. Im past that part. I want it so bad. Mercedes cant keep me clean. But that baby is definitely getting me clean. Thats all i need is to get there in this process. I can take it from there. Opioid dependency is extremely hard to break. Studies have shown heroin addiction rewires the brain and cravings can last months or years. Will you hug me . I will. Im glad you are here. Thank you. This will be ebonys 14th attempt to get clean. Why dont you tell me the reason you are here today. I am tired. Im done. Im tapped out. I have a baby. Thats fair. Im glad you are here. A battery of tests and questions about her drug use are now a familiar part of the drill. Do i have to pee in the cup . Maybe. Cheap heroin is cut with cheap additives. When they go for treatment, they might not know who they are addicted to. I want to see. You are positive for amphetamines, for mdma, for opiates, for benzo. We are about to check fentanyl. You might get high if you touch that. Get your bedding going. This is ebonys home for the next six weeks. You will be in dorm e. You will have a bed. You will have this space for you and her. Kind of private. You should have sheets and pillows and everything you need in there. We will give you a tour, help you get settled. Thank you. Do you have a rest room . Showers in there. What kind of shower . Closed . This is like jail. Let me see the shower. Sure. I can see ebonys resolve crumble as she begins to face what lies ahead. Sgli can i cant bring my baby here. Its not because of me. My baby dont deserve its not that bad. Its not that bad. Hold her in the shower with me . Im sure they have portable bathtubs. Im not being judgmental for me. I dont give a [ bleep ]. I will lay in dirt. My baby dont deserve this. Come on. Lets get out of the bathroom. Even at ebonys lowest point, its clear to me that shes thinking about her daughters needs first. Where they go from here is up to her. Detox is voluntary. Like shes done before, ebonys free to walk out the door at any time. The temptation will get harder to fight as she starts to go through withdrawal. I will let you chill. I was surprised by ebonys reaction. I can understand how she wouldnt want her daughter to be in a place like this. Because her daughter has been in a comfortable home. We will see if she makes it through the next 30 to 45 days. We will see if she makes it through the next few days. For parents like ebony, programs like these can be a life line. If Child Protection agencies arent structured to point them in the right direction, they could fall through the cracks. The Buckeye State is dead last when it comes to funding child welfare. 14,000 children are in agency custody. Up 14 in five years. Caseworkers are stretched to the limit. In 2019 when the republican state attorney general was sworn in