Pubdate: Sat, 18 Feb 2006 Source: News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) Copyright: 2006 The News and Observer Publishing Company Contact: https://miva.nando.com/contact_us/letter_editor.html Website: http://www.news-observer.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/304 Author: Jennifer Brevorka BABY'S DEATH SPURS WAKE REFORMS Infants Born To Drug-Abusing Parents Will Come Under Tighter Scrutiny By Wake's Child Welfare Staff Officials say McCarthy, asleep, rolled on her baby, killing her. Spurred by a 6-week-old girl's death, Wake County's child welfare agency Friday released a plan to improve its investigation and supervision of infants born to drug-abusing parents. After Natalia Rita McCarthy died last spring, Child Protective Services created a new protocol for dealing with newborns, or new mothers, who have drugs in their systems. Now, when mothers or newborns test positive for drugs, a social worker does a thorough criminal background check of adults in the house, devises a safety plan for the child and works to ensure that a drug-free adult helps nurture the baby. Natalia tested positive for cocaine after her birth March 22, according to the Wake County Sheriff's Office. She died May 4 after her mother, Corinne McCarthy, 29, rolled on top of her while they slept, investigators said. McCarthy was arrested Monday on a charge of involuntary manslaughter. A prosecutor said she tested positive for cocaine after Natalia's death. "The protocol we have developed would have us being involved . in an ongoing way in cases of a baby testing for cocaine," said Warren Ludwig, who oversees Wake's child welfare services. "We did not do that in this case." The new policy, instituted in December, was released Friday with a two-page statement that detailed interactions between Child Protective Services and McCarthy. After three meetings with McCarthy over 15 days -- one of them a home visit -- Child Protective Services closed Natalia's case. The agency never asked McCarthy to take a drug test after she left the hospital, and it took her word that she was not on cocaine. It never recommended that she get drug treatment. Social workers also never checked McCarthy's criminal record. She had been convicted of possession of drug paraphernalia in 2002 and of driving while impaired in 2002 and 2004, according to court records. Tom Vitaglione, an N.C. Child Advocacy Institute senior fellow, said the new policy means that Wake child welfare workers must take a harder line on parents who use drugs. "They're going to assume that it's a legitimate abuse case," he said. Under state law, social workers alone cannot permanently remove children from homes where abuse is suspected or under investigation. Instead, their agencies must persuade a juvenile court to do so. Wake officials estimate that less than 5 percent of complaints taken by county welfare officials result in removing children from homes. After Natalia tested positive for cocaine at WakeMed Raleigh Campus, Child Protective Services was informed. McCarthy said she used drugs several years ago but said she had quit, the report said. But she also acknowledged taking cocaine two days before Natalia was born and once earlier in her pregnancy. McCarthy said she had no drug problem and did not need treatment. A friend told a social worker she could help McCarthy with Natalia, according to the statement. In addition, the friend said she did not think McCarthy used drugs. McCarthy and Natalia went home. About two weeks later, a county social worker met McCarthy at the Wake Public Health Center, where Natalia had a doctor's appointment, according to the statement. Later that same day, the social worker went to McCarthy's home near Knightdale. At the house, the social worker spoke with McCarthy about drug abuse, said Jane Martin, spokeswoman for Wake County Human Services. McCarthy assured the social worker she was not using drugs and did not intend to, Martin said. Ludwig said he did not know how long the social worker stayed in McCarthy's home. The department's statement describes McCarthy as attentive to Natalia and said the house was clean. The social worker, who was not identified in the report, advised McCarthy about proper sleeping arrangements. About 20 days later, after no further contact with McCarthy, the social worker met with her supervisor, who also was not identified, and Natalia's case was closed. "The social worker took the mother's assurances that she did not have an ongoing substance abuse problem at face value," Ludwig said. Six days later, Natalia was dead. (News researcher Becky Ogburn contributed to this report.) Sidebar NEW STEPS Wake County Child Protective Services made several policy changes after Natalia's death. They include: * If Child Protective Services is investigating neglect in a home, criminal record checks will be done on all adults in the home. Previously, there was no mandate for criminal records checks. * When the agency receives a report of an infant, or mother, testing positive for drugs, it will be treated as a report of neglect, and a social worker will investigate. * If a newborn or mother tests positive for drugs, an infant must be supervised by another responsible adult in addition to the mother, as part of a safety plan developed for the baby. * Mothers who test positive for drugs, or whose newborns test positive, can be assessed by substance abuse experts who will determine whether the mother needs treatment. * Mothers can be asked to submit to random drug tests. If a mother refuses to comply or tests positive for drugs, the social worker can take further action, such as meeting with the family to re-evaluate the safety plan or asking the courts to remove the child from a home. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin