In this episode of Scripps News Investigates, we explore the silent toll of the fentanyl epidemic: overdoses of children too young to know they're picking up a deadly drug.
For months, Scripps News has investigated hundreds of cases of babies and toddlers across the country who have been poisoned by fentanyl.
Many cases Scripps News reviewed involved parents or caregivers who were accused of leaving fentanyl within a child's easy reach. But in case after case, we found red flags: family members, case workers and police, all aware children were in harm's way, but unable to do enough to save them.
National Investigative Correspondent Lori Jane Gliha and her team traveled from coast to coast, interviewing families, medical experts, and social workers about the deaths and near-fatalities of babies, toddlers, and young children across the country.
The special program is the culmination of months of special investigative reports exposing how young children are often putting drugs or contaminated paraphernalia in their mouths after finding them within easy reach.
The groundbreaking analysis of nearly 300 cases has also identified changes in hospital protocols that are being encouraged in several states to help prevent more deaths.
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