The State of Missouri continues to hold its infamous ranking as the meth capital of the world. As a result, people involved in youth programs have formed the Missouri Alliance of Drug Endangered Children. They held their first meeting Tuesday in Lake Ozark.

Lori Moriarty is an expert in helping kids caught in the middle of their parents' drug abuse. Moriarty's experience comes from over 20 years in an undercover drug unit in Colorado. She now serves as the Executive Director of the National Alliance for Drug Endangered Children.

Moriarty spoke to government and service organization officials at the first-ever conference of the Missouri Alliance for Drug Endangered Children. Organizers say the new alliance is a way for youth organizations across the state to work together to rescue kids living in the world of drugs.

"I think that our biggest challenge is changing the public perception that drugs do not affect the children within the house," says Missouri DEC Alliance President Shannon Stokes.

Drug-endangered children are defined as kids exposed to the manufacturing, distribution, or use of drugs. Many are all-too-aware of their parents' illicit behavior, including a boy who drew police a picture of his mom's meth lab. And, experts say, the abuse these children face does not change with their parents' choice of drug.

"No matter what the substance, a lot of times the subculture is still the same. Addiction is addiciton is addiction," says Moriarty. "And so whether or you're addicted to methamphetamine and you're manufacturing it, or you're addicted to marijuana and you're doing a marijuana grow, the dynamic of what the addiction is doing to the parents is what's having a huge affect on the child ."

Moriarty says, to remove kids from the world of drugs, law enforcement agencies and youth services workers must dig deeper into family conflicts to see if drugs are part of a problem.

"You know, you can just keep swiping at the symptoms, and until you actually solve the disease and get to the root issue, are you really going to make a difference or are you just going to keep responding to the symptoms?" says Moriarty.

Officials urge people concerned for kids in suspected drug households to call the Missouri Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline. Youth experts also recommend calling local law enforcement agencies if you see suspicious activity. That could include frequently-unsupervised children.