Jordan Duenckel

Substance abuse in Audrain County has consequences that radiate beyond the user. Across the United States, three major issues: substance abuse, child welfare, and criminal justice, intersect every day. Their overlap is not a theory, it’s something we see every day in 911 calls, family court hearings, foster home placements, schools, treatment centers, jails, and prisons. While the criminal justice system addresses the users and those who distribute narcotics, those most affected are often the most vulnerable: children.

When substance abuse occurs in households with children, the ripple effects quickly reach the child welfare system. Untreated addiction leads to neglect, inconsistent caregiving, financial instability, or hazardous homes. Child protection agencies intervene in many of these situations, if they know about them. In Audrain County, this agency is the Children’s Division of the Missouri Department of Social Services. Assisted by the Juvenile Office and local partners like schools, local law enforcement, and other mandated reporters, Children’s Division responds to hotline calls about child welfare. When the child’s safety cannot be assured, Children’s Division can take immediate protective custody. Upon taking custody, a child abuse and neglect proceeding begins in the juvenile division of the Court. The Court operates with the general goal of ensuring the “best interests of the child,” while affording parents the ability to be heard fully and fairly each step of the process.

Children’s Division is critical in providing both protection for children and services to the parents of the protected children, with the goal to reunify. Reunification is not always possible, and these cases may result in termination of parental rights, alternative guardianship, or adoption. Working towards these ultimate goals, a child is often placed in foster care with a placement family. Child neglect is the primary reason for foster care entry, and substance abuse is one of the most cited contributing factors. But the presence of drugs in a household is often intertwined with deeper challenges: untreated mental health conditions, generational trauma, domestic violence, poverty and housing instability.

Foster care is meant to provide temporary safety for children while parents work toward reunification. When a child is removed from home, even if the situation is unsafe, the separation itself is deeply traumatic. Children often do not understand why they cannot stay with their parents, nor do they grasp the danger of, or the legal reasoning behind, the removal. These children feel a sudden loss of everything familiar—their parent, their bed, their toys, and the routines that gave their life meaning. Many children respond with fear, sadness, guilt, or anger. They may withdraw emotionally or erupt in outbursts.

Once in foster care, children often face a series of changes that continue to disrupt their sense of security. They adjust to living with strangers or relatives they barely know. Some move from one placement to another when foster homes become full, when caregivers cannot manage their needs, or when family can’t provide them safety. With each move, children must start over, learning new rules, meeting new authority figures, entering new schools, and leaving behind people they may have just begun to trust.

Children’s Division statistics show we have a problem. At the end of August, Children’s Division had 43 children under their care just in Audrain County. This number balloons to 11,394 children statewide, nearly the population of Mexico. Statewide, 4,036 children have been in care for more than two years. Two plus years of uncertainty, rapid change, and emotional separation for each of those children.

November is National Adoption Awareness Month. This month is a powerful reminder that behind every statistic, every court case, and every policy debate, there is a child who needs a safe, stable, and loving home. But this month is not just about celebrating adoption: it is about understanding the complex realities faced by children in foster care, especially those whose families have been affected by addiction and involvement with the justice system.

Many of us grow up in homes that are loving, supporting, and nurturing where “CD” is an antiquated media storage device. But some children in the community don’t have that luxury. We are grateful to our citizens that are law abiding, that are good neighbors, and that make our community a better place while being zealous advocates for children. If you see a child struggling, step up and say something. Be involved as your intervention could be the step needed to bring that child out of an abusive or neglectful situation. Children’s Division operates a child abuse and neglect hotline at 1-800-392-3738 where you can report your concerns.

This National Adoption Awareness Month, every one of us can play a meaningful role. You can choose to become a foster parent, a mentor, a financial donor, or an adoptive parent. You can support organizations that help families heal from addiction, provide trauma-informed care, or connect children with safe relatives. You can share accurate information in your community so people understand that children in foster care are not “broken”—they are resilient young people who have endured difficult circumstances and deserve understanding, stability, and love. You can be the difference in the life of a child who needs love and care.

Many of these children are not simply waiting to be adopted. They are waiting for stability. They are waiting for adults who will stand up for them, support their families when safe, and make sure they do not get lost in a system that is too overwhelmed to give them the individualized care they deserve. Children need parents, mentors and a community to support them. They are waiting for you.

This column was written by Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Jordan Duenckel, who asked to share this with you, as this issue is close to his heart. I’ll be back next month. Audrain County Prosecuting Attorney Jacob Shellabarger