"Father has four children: Robert (seven years old), Laura (six years old), Makayla (four years old), and Alfred (three years old). . . . On October 21, 2008, the children were taken into protective custody after their parents were arrested on outstanding warrants. They had been living in deplorable conditions. Their home was a filthy basement containing an open sewer hole full of urine and feces. There was no refrigerator, and the children did not have enough food. They were not fed on a consistent basis. Mother, Father, and other residents in the home smoked methamphetamine when the children were present. Father gave the police a false name and claimed to be just visiting. He had a criminal record and was affiliated with gangs. Mother appeared to be under the influence of drugs. There were three prior child abuse reports regarding the children, including a substantiated report Laura required hospitalization due to rotten teeth. . . . Laura said she saw her parents steal and argue frequently. She said it made her younger siblings cry. All the children suffered from severe tooth decay."
"Father missed several appointments to have a drug patch applied. He missed two random drug tests. One test had been positive for benzodiazepines. Father ignored the parenting education facilitator's attempts to invite him to meetings. He did not attend any meetings or appear at the pretrial hearing on November 26. On that day, he was arrested for shoplifting. Before the six-month review hearing, the social worker reported Father was released from custody on January 5, 2009. He failed to respond to the social worker's attempts to contact him. On January 20, the paternal grandmother reported she had kicked him out of her home because she knew he was using drugs. Father did not participate in any 12-step meetings, enroll in classes, or drug test while he was out of custody."
Drugs more important than children, apparently.
