Viola Foss is only 3. She doesn't know anything about methamphetamine, but she deserves the credit for turning her father's life around.

Alan Foss, 40, had been using meth for 20 years when Viola, then just 2 days old, was taken away by the Napa County Child Protective Services.

That was the wake-up call he needed.

"I knew I had to get my daughter back. I couldn't let her be raised in foster care," Foss said. He went through the CPS reunification program, complied with all its orders and got full custody of Viola within a year. He has now been clean and sober for three years.

But Foss didn't stop with cleaning up his act. He has used his experiences to become a certified domestic violence program facilitator and also teaches anger management classes at Alternatives for Better Living, a local nonprofit drug abuse treatment program.

Foss works two days a week for CPS, facilitating the program Parents Can. He helps parents who are going through the reunification program after having their children removed from their homes by CPS. He is also a graduate from the Napa County Drug Diversion Program.

'Dry out and think'

Foss' journey to becoming clean and sober started at the hospital where Viola was born.

Before Viola's birth, Foss had been arrested for domestic violence. Viola's mother was the victim. A restraining order was issued against Foss, prohibiting him from contacting Viola's mother.

"I don't know how CPS found out I was at the hospital, but they showed up and since both of us had violated the restraining order, they took the baby right then and there," Foss said.

Then things only got more complicated. When Foss showed up for a CPS hearing, it was discovered he had an outstanding warrant for his arrest for drug charges. He was given 30 days in jail and his parenting rights were terminated.

"It probably was the best thing that happened to me and my daughter. I was still using meth," Foss said. "During those 30 days I got to have visiting rights with Viola. I also had time to dry out and think. I didn't want to be a father who only sees his kid with supervised visits. She certainly didn't deserve that kind of life."

Foss shed his drug-using friends, quit going to the places where he used to hang out, and moved into a homeless shelter.

Foss believes his past with meth and his determination to get custody of his daughter helps him guide those in the Parent Can program who've gone through similar problems.

"We want to link parents with the services we provide," said Nancy Schulz, behavioral health manager for Child Protective Services. "It is exciting bringing Alan into this program. He has a different twist with the parents. It's critical to have a parent advocate working the parents, especially because he's been there. At first many families don't trust us. We see Alan as a person who can bridge that gap."

Dealing and using

Foss has lived in Napa since he was 12. He got into drugs at 13, smoking marijuana. That led to cocaine and meth, he said.

"By the time I about 20 I was using (meth) every day. I was a 20-year intravenous meth user. It was my lifestyle. Some people can't go a day without having a cup of coffee or a soda, I couldn't go through one day without injecting myself with meth," he said.

Foss said that toward the end of his drug-using days, his habit cost him $100 to $150 a day. He dealt drugs to get money to buy drugs. He worked at a body shop in Vallejo during the day and dealt drugs at night, all to support his meth habit.

But that was only part of that time. Before he got clean, the majority of Foss' adult life was spent behind bars, including two years at San Quentin.

"All those years of wasting my life and all because I needed my daily meth fix," Foss said.

Foss' numerous tattoos tell the story of his life.

"The dragon is for my addiction. The eagle represents that I am now free. My daughter's name on the back of my neck stands for the reason why, and the checkered flag represents that I am a winner," he said.

Foss has heard a "million different reasons why people use drugs. I only had one. I got high, and I liked being high," he said. "I don't still battle the drug habit, but I don't considered myself cured. I lived that way too long."