|
Not much of a safety net in Indiana |
 |
 |
|
Wednesday, 29 March 2006 19:00 |
|
A Franklin, Indiana woman has been charged with arranging to trade her
3-month old baby to a fellow drug addict and his wife for drugs.
According to the Columbus, Indiana Republic, the woman, 32, was arrested after police entered her home on a forgery investigation and found three children, ranging in age from three months to 3 years, living in sqalor. A relative in the house told police about the plan to barter the child. Police then visited the home of the couple planning to take the child and found "blankets, a bassinet and baby clothes." As details emerge, authorities are learning that--as with most cases of gross child neglect--others were aware children were endangered long before action was taken. The Republic reports that the baby was born addicted to methadone at Wishard Memorial Hospital in Indianapolis and kept there "for weeks." According to police records, the other two children may have been born addicted at the same hospital. The mother was also a patient at a drug treatment clinic, which should have made social workers aware of her situation. The paper also found that she had "given [the baby] away twice before but was persuaded by family members" to bring him home. The woman "reclaimed the baby," says the report, "saying a chid welfare worker was coming to check on the child." All three of the woman's children have now been placed in the home of a relative by the Indiana Office of Family and Children.
|
