DEC Presentation

Introduction
It is widely recognized that methamphetamine has become one of the most dangerous and harmful drugs to sweep the nation. Last year approximately 38 home methamphetamine labs have been seized in Butte County. (Social worker IV, personal communication, October 21, 2004). Last year Children’s Services social workers made contact with 264 children living in a drug endangered environment (Drug Endangered Children (DEC), 2004).

According to Children’s Services supervisors, social work students are not getting enough education and training in school about health and safety risks associated with drug exposure (Social Work supervisor II, personal communication, October 21, 2004). It is essential that social workers have a foundation of knowledge about methamphetamine manufacturing so they can protect themselves from possible exposure. Furthermore, social workers need to know how to detect possible meth labs. Knowing the chemicals used in manufacturing will help the social worker to identify dangerous situations.

Statement of Need
The Butte County Drug Endangered Children (DEC) response team provides training and community presentations to more than 4,500 persons throughout the County of Butte and the State of California (DEC, 2004). This training held on April 25, 2005, provided education on drugs, user identification, methamphetamine manufacturing, and investigation of DEC cases, prosecution, and social services intervention. This presentation was provided for social work students and faculty at California State University, Chico. This presentation was held during the evening to allow professors and Children Service staff to attend. This presentation was also offered to the social workers at Butte County Children’s services as a refresher presentation. This presentation, given by a local narcotics officer and Children’s services social workers on behalf of Drug Endangered Children (DEC), was designed to help investigators and social workers become familiar with the most common methods of manufacturing methamphetamines, children living in drug labs, as well as drug lab recognition. This training familiarized students with the most advanced techniques and teaching methods used in narcotic enforcement training.

Description of Intervention
This presentation gained the attention and support from various agencies and organizations through out the community. Facilitating this presentation has not only been exciting but, it has been a great way to network with social services agencies, law enforcement and, California State University, Chico. Furthermore, as depicted by the literature reviews, personal interviews and, research, social work students need more education on the realities of substance abuse and how exposure to substance manufacturing can hazardous to a person’s health and safety.

During the planning stage of the presentation, I voiced my ideas of bringing DEC to California State University, Chico campus to present to students. The amount of feedback and support that I received from Children’s Services social workers, Community Action Volunteer Education (CAVE) staff, and social work professors was empowering. In order to financially facilitate this presentation I utilized CAVE, a volunteer organization on Chico State Campus. CAVE, has supported me by funding the room rental as well as publicizing the presentation to volunteers. Furthermore, the presenters donated their time and their resources to present on behalf of DEC and Butte Interagency Narcotics Task Force (BINTF).

Evaluation
In evaluating the outcome of the presentation, I would recommend for the future to plan the presentation to occur in March as opposed to April. I believe that it would be less stressful and more convenient if for the presentation not to be so close to California State University, Chico graduation ceremonies. Furthermore, when preparing for the presentation it would be beneficial to screen the material presented prior to the actual presentation to make sure that all the material being presented is appropriate for all audience members. Some material that was presented in a law enforcement setting may not be culturally appropriate for all viewers. However, I do hope that DEC will be able to present to all social work students in the future, because I believe in order to help children and families social workers should be equipped with the knowledge and skills to protect themselves first.

Reflection
I feel that the DEC presentation was a success. One thing that I was concerned about was having enough people attend the training to make it effective. However, at one point during the training there were 30 people present. I was pleased to see such an interest and outcome. Furthermore, there was a diverse population present during the training which included social work students, social work professors, CAVE staff, and various social workers from community agencies. With such a diverse and large audience, I felt secure that this presentation was well advertised.

The presentation was scheduled to be approximately 1 ½ hours. To my surprise, when the presentation went over the allocated time, the majority of the audience stayed until the presentation was finished. At one point the presenter informed the group that the presentation was “running late”, and people could feel free to leave if they wanted or needed to but, the presentation would continue until the end. With very few people leaving before the completion of the presentation, I felt assured that the presentation was effective.

During the planning stage of this process, I wanted to design a handout that would have been distributed at the end of the training. I wanted this handout to include several facts and information about methamphetamine and manufacturing. However, I was unable to develop this handout due to lack of time in my schedule. I feel that these handouts would have been appreciated from audience members.

I believe that the outcome of this presentation was successful and it demonstrated the interest involving social work and substance abuse. I would further like to comment that the feedback that I received from audience members after the presentation. I was informed by several audience members that the information presented was informative, shocking, and appreciated. I feel proud that I was able to help students become aware of the dangers associated with methamphetamine and manufacturing.

Reference
Drug Endangered Children. (2004). The DEC model. [ Brochure].
Drug Endangered Children Response Team (DEC). (2004). The drug endangered children’s Response Team Model. Bulletin.