Legal Question in Family Law in California

If your concern is for your daughter why is your question about what will happen to you? To answer your question, first off the courts don't bring charges. CPS or the District Attorney does. Second, you could be charged with child abuse or neglect. However the statute on the subject of babies born with positive toxicology for drugs specifically says that a positive toxicology screen shall not, by itself, be grounds for child abuse or neglect charges. In the California system, it is not very likely that you will be charged with a crime. More likely the court will decide whether to take her from you permanently and put her up for foster care or adoption, or to put you and her into some form of plan or program to get you both cleaned up.

That's the technical answer. Now let me tell you the real world answer. My middle son is an adopted drug baby. His birth mother did exactly what you did - drugs while pregnant and no pre-natal care. Once he was born, other than the positive toxicology screen for meth, marijuana and alcohol use, he seemed fine. But the doctors told us that it was almost impossible that he would be entirely unaffected. They said since he appeared fine, the likelihood that he would be severely disabled was very small, but that with his lack of prenatal care and the drugs, it was equally unlikely that he would be fine. My ex and I decided to take our chances, especially since we knew if he needed help we would be able to give it to him with the resources available where we live and our incomes.

As he grew up we noticed things weren't quite right with the way he moved. It turned out he has cerebral palsy. We are very fortunate. He is fairly mildly affected, and we have good medical insurance coverage. Still, he needed physical therapy and occupational therapy twice a week for about ten years, and now goes in a few times a year. He must wear a leg brace to walk straight. His hands do not work well. He can type on his computer, but only with one finger on one hand. He can talk and be understood if he tries, but he has to try very hard to form the words carefully or you can't understand him. He is in main-stream school, but needs a lot of Special Ed. assistance. We still hope he can be independent when he grows up, but it is not certain that we will not have to care for him for the rest of his life.

We have spent thousands of hours helping him, on top of all the time it normally takes to raise a child. We have spent tens of thousands of dollars on his care; it would probably be well into six figures if not for good insurance. Our lives revolve around him, not us anymore, him.

Would we do it again? Sure, but we had it easy. He was mildly affected compared to other drug babies. He had only physical problems, not mental ones. And we had money and great resources courtesy of all the non-profits and social services dedicated to the handicapped in Alameda County. If we had been poor and in another place, we might never have been able to do it. If we were poor, in another place, and he was badly affected, our lives would have been a disaster.

So here's my question to you, for you to answer in your heart. Is your concern REALLY for your daughter? If so, do what's right by her, not what makes you feel good.