Lets put an end on our children entering methadone clinics.

Marks Law
My name is Wanda Gonzalez and I am writing this letter in hopes that you will consider my proposal in creating Mark’s Law.
You may be aware that substance abuse treatments centers protect the rights and privacy of patients that enter them for help. They do not allow visitors who are not patients into the facility. They have rules and regulations put into place so patients have privacy to get better. What you may not know is that the rules and regulations don’t pertain to children. Patients bring children into the facility with them and subject them to the surroundings that can be disturbing for them. There is nothing in place to keep this from happening. Because some of these patients are single parents, it is permissible to bring a child along should the parent not be able to find daycare. There is nothing set up in the facility to keep the child from being subjected to patients being treated. This is a problem.
The idea for Mark’s Law was born from an incident that occurred with my son that caused him emotional and mental trauma. My son’s father, a former addict, has to attend a drug program for [insert reason]. We are no longer together so whenever our son visited him, he took Mark with him to the facility. This happened multiple times and without any notification to me. Mark repeatedly exposed to an unhealthy environment having to sit and wait in a room filled with people with substance abuse problems. On more than one occasion, he brought Mark into the actual facility where he was treated. Mark’s constant exposure to this environment caused him to become anxious and uncomfortable.
After returning from time with his father, I noticed that Mark was depressed a lot. Then his grades started to slip and one day he told me that he wanted to harm himself. I did not know why at first because Mark did not tell me he had been inside this facility. Once he opened up and told me about the multiple visits to this place I discovered there are no policies put in place that bar children from these places.
There are policies put in place that adults cannot enter into this facility unless they get treatment or on staff. However, they allow an underage child to walk in without question. Not placed somewhere exposure to patients treated for addiction is off limits. Being that I am the primary parent, I should know that he was there. No one notified me. Mark’s Law would prevent this.
Under Mark’s Law, are not permitted in or to accompany any adults going in for treatment for addiction. If the adult bringing the child into the facility is not the primary caregiver due to divorce or separation, the facility should immediately notify the caregiver so the child can be picked up prior to the adults’ treatment. This law is important for the mental and emotional stability of any child with a parent dealing with substance abuse. Dealing with the abuse at home is already taxing especially for children. They don’t have to endure the same abuse in places designed for adults seeking treatment.
The facilities have rules put in place to protect the privacy and health of the person seeking treatment, its time there was a law in place to protect the children.
That’s why I am asking for Mark’s Law to be put into place.