Sometimes these dependency cases must seem hopeless.
Here's a little background vis-a-vis the seven relevant prior children, plus this one (the eighth):
"K.S., the minor who is the subject of these proceedings, was detained by the San
Francisco Human Services Agency (Agency) shortly after her birth in January 2017, due
to a referral indicating that mother had tested positive for methamphetamines during a
recent prenatal visit. According to the underlying dependency petition—as it was
ultimately sustained by the juvenile court—K.S. (the couple’s only child in common) was
described by subdivisions (b) and (j) of section 300 due to: mother’s long history of
substance abuse for which she failed to receive treatment; the termination of mother’s
parental rights with respect to four previous children based on her untreated
polysubstance abuse; the parents’ history of domestic violence; father’s history of
substance abuse, for which he failed to seek treatment until June 2017; and the
termination of father’s parental rights to three other children in 2008."
A few more details about the mother's previous kids:
"According to records supplied by the Agency, in 2010 mother gave birth to a
daughter, C.S., who was detained after mother and baby tested positive for cocaine at
birth. Mother was found to have an on-going substance abuse problem, a history of
psychiatric hospitalizations, and a lack of stable housing. Reunification services were
ordered for mother, including residential drug treatment, individual therapy, a
psychological evaluation, and parenting classes. Unfortunately, those services were
terminated as unsuccessful, and mother’s parental rights were terminated with respect to C.S. in January 2012. Thereafter, in July 2012, mother’s next child, K.G., was detained
shortly after birth due to mother’s unresolved problems with substance abuse, mental
health issues, homelessness, criminality, and child welfare involvement. Mother was
bypassed for reunification with respect to K.G., and her parental rights were ultimately
terminated. In 2013, mother gave birth to twins—J.S. and R.S.—who were immediately
detained due to positive toxicology screens for crack cocaine and marijuana (for mother
and both babies) and mother’s substance abuse history. Mother was bypassed for
reunification with respect to the twins, and her parental rights were terminated in July
2014."
Here's some information about the mother:
"Mother’s criminal history includes arrests for receiving stolen property, taking a vehicle
without consent, and threatening a crime with intent to terrorize (2000); failure to obey a
juvenile court order and loitering with the intent to commit prostitution (2001);
possession of marijuana for sale (2003); battery on a person and obstructing/resisting a
public officer (2008); assault with a deadly weapon (not a firearm) with great bodily
injury likely (2008); domestic battery and vandalism (2008); transportation/sale of
narcotics (2011); and possession of a controlled substance (2016)."
As for the father:
"Father’s criminal history spanned almost 30 years, with multiple arrests for
possession of narcotics for sale, possession of a controlled substance, and possession of
crack cocaine. Recent arrests include petty theft (2010); possession of a controlled
substance and violation of probation (2010); second degree robbery, possession of a
controlled substance, and trespass (2012); possession of a controlled substance for sale,
possession of paraphernalia, and carrying dirk/dagger (2012); burglary, assault with great
bodily injury, receiving known stolen property, and committing an offense while on bail
(2012); unlawful driving/taking of a vehicle, possession of a controlled substance, and
probation violation (2013); second degree burglary, vandalism, and battery (2014);
possession of a controlled substance (2015); domestic violence (2015); assault with great
bodily injury, possession of a switch blade, and resisting/obstructing police officer/EMT
(2016); reckless driving, forgery of registration, driving without a valid license, and
receiving stolen property (2016); and petty theft (2016)."
"Hopeless" may even be a bit of an understatement. How incredibly, incredibly hard it must be to try to deal with these sorts of cases and get everyone's lives on track.
