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???![]()

