Here’s a situation that illustrates some of the difficulties involved in ensuring safety for the very youngest victims of addiction– infants born to drug-addicted parents.

It’s an emotionally charged issue, but also one fraught with social and legal complications. Even the best-intentioned efforts to correct deficiencies in the system can inadvertently lead to new and unforeseen problems.

For example, one Governor’s plan to protect infants who have been exposed to drugs via the parent’s use:

Memo outlines … hospitals’ concerns over governor’s policy change on drug-exposed infants

The story in brief: infants have suffered after having been returned by a hospital to the care of their drug-involved parents. Understandably, there was an uproar.  Why didn’t the hospital staff simply keep the infant in their custody until the appropriate authorities could take over?

A natural question. The Governor had responded with a rule requiring the hospital to “…hold such infants until… [the] child welfare agency petitions the courts for custody and gets an answer.”  That can take time, of course.

Hospital attorneys saw problems. In brief:

  • First, what legal authority did the hospital have to refuse parents custody of their own infant child? What if they protested?
  • Suppose the parents simply refused permission for the hospital to test their infant for drugs? Could the hospital legally ignore their wishes?
  • Some infants require extended hospital stays, often at intensive levels of care. How was the institution to accommodate an influx of infants for lengthy periods? Critical care resources for children were scarce.
  • Last but not least, would prospective parents be discouraged from giving birth in the hospital, fearing their newborn would be taken from them? Would they instead opt for a less medically safe setting?

All questions that unfortunately have yet to be resolved. And we haven’t even gotten to the question of what the State would do with all those infants newly placed in their custody.

We’ll stay tuned in case there’s a resolution. It might take a while.