AG candidate Kaul urges more effort to fight opioid crisis

It’s a different kind of situation separating children from their parents that’s not making the news quite as much.

It is still, however, having an enormous impact on an already overburdened system.

The opioid crisis is overwhelming a foster care system in the U.S. With states like Wisconsin seeing up to a 20-percent increase in the number of kids in foster homes, largely due to overdose or criminal activity.

It’s partly why Democratic Attorney General candidate Josh Kaul says the state needs to do more to combat the opioid crisis.

“It has been devastating for families across the state,” Kaul said. “The number of kids who have been separated from a drug-addicted parent has climbed significantly.

“We were approaching 900 overdose deaths last year which is higher than it was in 2016 and 2016 was a lot higher than it was in 2015.”

Kaul is calling for more effort at holding pharmaceutical companies accountable for the opioid crisis, more enforcement of drug trafficking laws by the state’s Department of Justice and expansion of access to treatment for those who are addicted.

Kaul has been fiercely critical of current Attorney General Brad Schimel for a lack of effectiveness in dealing with a surge of opioids in the state.