Debunking crack myths
How mothers and babies became scapegoats in the war on drugs
Archived article from Nov 5, 1999
By Caroline Yount
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Around this time, the tenor of stories in the media also changed. Now the women seen on the TV news, while still minorities, were in drug rehabilitation programs, penitent and working to get back their children, who had been placed in foster care.
The news treated a handful of exceptional treatment programs as the norm, conveying the impression that such programs were successful and numerous enough to address the needs of all addicted women and their crack-exposed infants. "Unfortunately, that was not the case," Humphries says, noting that Congress never funded treatment at a level that met demand. "More states reported unmet treatment needs in 1994 than in 1985," she reports.
"The crack mothers' story is tragic on any number of counts," Humphries says. "The suffering of infants, addiction, grinding poverty and the burdens such problems place on the rest of society all have to be counted. But if I had to single out just one, it would be lost opportunity. For a brief few years, the nation was riveted on maternal drug use, and yet, because punishment was valued over treatment, we failed to take advantage of the situation. A public-health network that effectively nurtures the maternal health of all women is still a thing of the future."
yY HY YY]Y T_DOLLAR_OPEN_CURLY_BRACES ) Y (0 Y `YRLY_OPEN now in its second year. The program, she says, goes far beyond the classroom. Not only do students read about crime, they actually participate in internships that connect them to the realities of working in the criminal justice field.
Humphries hopes the mix of theory and application will help students become humane and competent leaders. The major's capstone course, "Ethics and Policy in Criminal Justice," examines issues ranging from gun control to the death penalty to drug prohibitions. Other classes offered this semester include investigations of white-collar crime, courts and criminal law, and terrorism.
Students also participate in research projects with professors and have access to the School of Law-Camden, its library and the Newark campus's criminal justice library. With these opportunities available, it is no surprise that students already have presented papers at professional conferences and seen their work published in academic journals.
"No other program in South Jersey offers students the resources that we do," Humphries says.
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