Baby Removed Due to Putative Father's History
My question involves juvenile law in the State of: WA I had my baby removed when he was 6 days old. When I found out I was pregnant at 7 weeks, I was homeless, and using alcohol. I quit drinking, enrolled in chemical dependency/mental health groups-3 times per week, stayed in a homeless shelter, basically doing what ANY mother would do to be a healthy person. I was told that the hospital would help me with resources during pre natal care. I requested full screen UA's at EVERY doc appt, which were all negative. I functioned extremely well, given the circumstances. My baby was born 10 lbs (scored off the charts in height, weight) naturally, WITHOUT pain meds- I had gestational diabetes on top of everything else. The hospital social worker made a referral to CPS. I had the feeling this would happen-thus, the engagements of treatment, etc. The worker came in, I asked HER for releases of info to sign, gave her all info about progress made, even that I established housing at the time. She did her thing, said everything checked out, asked me to sign a safety plan-that I would continue treatment, and work on permanent housing. I said, "Let's throw some UA's in the mix." So, everything was fine. Then the "presumed" father was served with dependency papers(I was not living with him, we're not married, he is not on the birth certificate-they got HIS name from an angry ex-then came and removed baby from ME that night! Dad has a felony assault from years ago-he caught a man molesting his son and put the guy in the hospital. Since I was already engaged in services on my own, the judge ordered a psych eval with a parenting component. 5 months later, CPS STILL HADN"T MADE THE REFERRAL. My baby is 7 1/2 months old now. I'm STILL sober, STILL in treatment, have completed 2 modules of parenting classes, still in housing, and FINALLY, the psych eval came back with glowing recommendations about my parenting skills...the department is dragging return home soley based on "presumed" father's history. Seriously, how long can "they" keep my baby??? I have a HUGE support system on my side, I'm doing above and beyond what was expected of me, my baby and I are totally bonded. I feel that my rights as a mother and and human being have been violated- even the illegal search and seizure of property-my child, although he's not a possession, I know. What else can I do???:wallbang:
Re: Wrongful Removal of Baby by CPS
Hon, you SERIOUSLY need to get an attorney. They should NOT have been able to take that child without a court order unless the child was in imminent danger.
CPS has been known to completely overstep their legal boundaries and get away with it.
Now with that said...did the baby test positive for anything?
Re: Baby Removed Due to Putative Father's History
Either the putative father has asserted rights as the father or he has not. If he has, "presumed" should no longer be an issue - the DNA test should have told the story some time ago. And odds are, even if the DNA isn't back yet, you have a sense of whether he's the biological father.
And... either you're in a relationship with the putative father or you're not. If CPS says, "You can't have the child in your care if you continue your relationship with this person, due to his history of violent criminal behavior," and you choose him over your kid, that's on you. If he's not in your life, you need to clarify why protective services deems him to be a concern if the child is in your care.