Social Worker to Go on Drug Raids

The county Narcotics Task Force is adding a social worker because officers on drug busts often encounter children.

In some cases, methamphetamine pipes have been found tucked next to bottles of baby formula or hidden in toys, authorities said.

The social worker from Child Protective Services is joining the task force to strengthen county response to these drug-endangered children, officials said.

Authorities said the social worker would help them in felony convictions because the social worker could testify about the dangerous circumstances in which children have been found. To prosecute felony child endangerment charges, authorities must show that the potential exists for a child to suffer great injury or death.