Proposal: Prison for new moms if drugs taint baby

Wexler is right about this being absurd.

But the Child Protection INDUSTRY has always
tried to use their own FAILURES in attempts to
justify more funding or power for themselves.

A kids is KILLED in foster care and the response
is to propose a new law (power) to put more kids
into the very same sort of danger? Incredible!

If the entire slippery slope (catch all) classification of
NEGLECT was removed from their jurisdiction
and ONLY hard core abuse was a basis for child
removal, resources would be better focused on
the need and less on making weak cases out of nothing.

A drug tainted baby is already classified as criminal
child abuse, not neglect, and of course the child and
all siblings can already be removed based on that.

But even the druggies did not bash this babies head in.

The news story was about FOSTERS who bashed a
babies head in.

Apparently the Mental Health worker who countered
the story of this foster death with such a proposal
needs some Mental Health work herself!

The attempted blame shifting by this woman is incredible!

The suggestions come from Rawnica Dillingham,
executive director of Mental Health Matters in
Hamilton, in the wake of 3-year-old Marcus Fiesel's
death last month. [ at hands of FOSTERS! ]


Jim Dremmer wrote:
http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs....WS01/609270348

Proposal: Prison for new moms if drugs taint baby

By Candice Brooks Hamilton JournalNews

HAMILTON - Making it a felony with mandatory prison time to give birth to a
child with an illegal drug in its blood was among several changes a local
mental health awareness advocate proposed Tuesday.

But a national organization is opposed to such prosecution of drug-addicted
mothers.

The suggestions come from Rawnica Dillingham, executive director of Mental
Health Matters in Hamilton, in the wake of 3-year-old Marcus Fiesel's death
last month.

The boy's death after his foster parents allegedly left him locked in a
closet for two days in August has brought new scrutiny of the Butler County
child welfare system, which placed Marcus with a private agency that then
placed him in the home of Liz and David Carroll.

It has been speculated the developmentally disabled boy was autistic or
suffered from fetal alcohol syndrome, but there is no evidence of such an
early diagnosis, county Children Services officials said.

Dillingham said she has received support for the change from the county
commissioners, county Prosecutor Robin Piper and Hamilton County Prosecutor
Joe Deters. Dillingham, who plans to challenge Commissioner Charles Furmon
is 2008, proposed making it a felony to "recklessly" use illegal drugs while
pregnant and require prison time if a mother gives birth to an infant with
traces of illegal drugs in its blood. Similar laws exist in Missouri and
Colorado, she said.

"It is currently a second-degree felony for any person to provide or
administer Schedule One or Schedule Two drugs to a minor," Dillingham told
commissioners. "I believe the same felony should apply to a newborn child
who is born with drugs in their system."

Though Commission President Gregory Jolivette raised some concern about drug
abuse prevention and drug treatment first, the board unanimously supported
amending Senate Bill 238 - passed in June to improve the monitoring of
foster parents - to include Dillingham's suggestions.

But Richard Wexler, executive director of the National Coalition for Child
Protection Reform, which aims to reduce foster care and child removals,
blasted the proposal.

"Why in the world would you respond to the brutal death of a child in foster
care by throwing more children into foster care?" Wexler asked, stating
Butler County's removal rate is 40 percent above the national average.