Story highlights Ohio has seen an 11% increase in foster children since 2010 due to the opioid epidemic

Ava, 8, asked her incarcerated dad why he uses drugs

(CNN) It all started with pain killers after a dentist appointment. Now, Drake, a 32-year-old from Columbus, Ohio has struggled with opioid abuse for more than a decade.

"I was just in disbelief," Drake's mother Carlene says, adding that she never thought her son would be a heroin addict. CNN has chosen not to use last names to protect the family's privacy.

Drake's addiction makes life harder for his 8-year-old daughter, Ava. Her mother is out of the picture, too, with a long arrest record herself -- so eventually Carlene took legal custody of her granddaughter. "I knew she needed a stable environment, and that going into a foster care system (it) would be difficult to be able to see her parents, you know, as I've allowed her to see them."

As many children do when trying to cope with a parent's addiction, Ava tried to appeal directly to her dad for answers. "So, first I asked, 'why do you take the drugs?'" she said. "And he says 'well I take them when I'm mad about something.' And I'm like, 'what are you mad about?' And he just doesn't tell me."

Ava hopes that there will soon be a turning point and her dad can come home from jail where he has been since April on charges of attempted theft. "This is really, really getting to be a huge problem in my life because, you know, it's really weird to live with your grandma and not to live with your mom and dad, the people who made you," she said.

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