Unintended victims of Northeast Florida opioid epidemic: Babies born to addicted mothers

On average, a baby is born addicted to opioids every 19 minutes in the U.S.

The opioid epidemic is devastating families, filling local morgues and continues to explode in Northeast Florida.  Action News Jax takes a closer look at the local effort to save the unintended victims of the opioid crisis – the babies born addicted to the drug.

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Anchor Tenikka Hughes was invited to the home of Frank and Karen Byrne. That's where she met 1-year-old Adrianna, who is affectionately called Addy Ann. 

She is thriving, after entering the world six weeks premature, severely underweight and addicted to opioids.

"She fit in my hand," Frank Byrne said.

The woman who gave birth to Addy Ann is Karen's daughter.

"I was very distraught." Karen Byrne said, "My daughter, she was my world, and I was naive and really didn't want to believe the extent of the problem she had."

When babies are born with drugs in their system, the Florida Department of Children and Families investigates and works to get resources to the family through partnerships with community agencies. Daniel, the oldest children's agency in Florida, is a part of that network.

Daniel CEO James Clark said,"We know that a third of the cases that come to us now are because of substance abuse, opiate abuse." Clark said, "You assume we have about 500 cases. A third of those are substance abuse."

Clark said the problem is getting worse, not better. The CDC found the number of children born addicted to opioids has increased tenfold since 1995 in Florida, far exceeding the threefold increase seen nationwide. 
Daniel works to help parents get clean and reunite them with their children, but it doesn't always work out that way. 

In Addy Ann's case, Karen said, "They really tried to get the mother back with the baby to give her every option every avenue to succeed and have her baby back."

Ultimately, Addy Ann's biological mother was deemed legally unfit. The Byrnes, who were initially granted temporary custody, adopted Addy Ann in December. The family said the Daniel staff helped them navigate the emotional process.

"The people that helped me gave me the strength to do this, that I wasn't against my daughter, I was helping somebody,"  Karen Byrne said. "I'm doing something right. It's not wrong for me to do it because it was hard for me to do."

As the opioid epidemic continues to ravage our communities, Clark said they need more families to open their homes and their hearts.

“Anybody can help who wants to save a life and that’s really what you're doing when you’re adopting or fostering you’re actually helping to save a life,” Clark said.

Meanwhile, Addy Ann has brought new life into the home of these once empty-nesters.

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"The baby has brought so much heart and so much joy it's crazy!" Frank Byrne said.

"We feel like she deserves all the love this world has to have and the more people that love her, the better," Karen Byrne said.

The Byrnes have an open adoption so while they will maintain permanent custody, they are willing to let Addy Ann's biological mom be a part of her life as she works to overcome her addiction.

If you'd like more information on fostering or adopting a local child call 1-800-96-ADOPT.  To learn more about Daniel, click here.

Cox Media Group