In Oklahoma, the foster-care system is handling 16 percent more children this year than last; in Kentucky, 12 percent more kids are in foster care. Both states have been hit hard by the methamphetamine epidemic.

Oregon officials say that their foster-care population would be half the current 5,515 children were it not for meth. Tennessee officials say 700 children were in foster care last year because of their parents' use of meth, up from 400 in 2003.

Part of the reason for the trend is that the public has become more aware of meth, and police more active in raiding small meth labs, both of which lead to more children being taken from troubled homes and placed in the custody of the state.

Complicating the problem is the fact that so many meth users live in rural areas, where social services are lacking. Also, children of meth users tend to have behavioral problems that make them less attractive to foster families. "People always ask, what can they do about meth? The most important thing you can do is become a foster parent, because we're just seeing so many kids being taken from these homes," North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem said at a recent community meeting.

"We used to think, you give these kids a good home and lots of love and they'll be O.K.," said Esther Rider-Salem, the manager of Oklahoma's Child Protective Services. "This goes above and beyond anything we've seen."

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