BABY BORN WITH DRUGS IS ABUSED, COURT RULES

Mothers who give birth to babies testing positive for illegal drugs have
committed child abuse, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled yesterday.

The court, in a 5-2 ruling, said the mothers are not criminally liable
under Ohio law, which has a different standard for a fetus and a child.

But its decision opens the door for civil liability and offers more
powerful legal ammunition for family services agencies seeking permanent
custody of such babies.

What effect the ruling may have on mothers and babies is unclear. Many
social service agencies across the state, including Cuyahoga County's,
already label many such newborns as abused.

And though not every judge has agreed with that label - until yesterday's
ruling there was no case law to support the practice - the objections
rarely mattered. Social services agencies could win custody for many other
reasons. "So all this is going to do, really, is make it easier to prove
that it's abuse," said Yvonne Billingsley, an assistant Cuyahoga County
prosecutor who supervises the 29 other prosecutors who work exclusively on
behalf of Children and Family Services.

"The bigger question is, now, what do we do" about pregnant women using
drugs? she said.

The Supreme Court ruling is based on a 1998 case in which the Stark County
Department of Human Services sought and won custody of a Canton newborn
named Lorenzo Blackshear.

According to court documents, hospital officials tested Lorenzo's blood
after they noticed how "jittery" he was. When tests revealed cocaine in the
baby's system, they reported it to county social services officials.

Paula M. Sawyers, a Stark County prosecutor, said after the ruling
yesterday that it was clear Lorenzo was abused by his mother, Tonya Kimbrough.

At the time, the county had already taken custody of her first child for
the same reason, Sawyers said. Lorenzo was her second child born with
cocaine in its system.

And now, the county is in the process of taking custody of Kimbrough's
third child, who tested positive for cocaine when the baby was born a few
months ago, Sawyers said.

"This is really a very big problem for families," Sawyers said.

There are about 100 babies born with drugs in their systems reported each
year in Stark County, she said. Of those, the county seeks and wins custody
of about half. Lorain County reports taking custody of about 10 such
newborns a year.

The number of children in Cuyahoga County is much higher, Billingsley said,
but the percentage of those taken is about the same, half.

Social workers make many of the decisions.

In Cuyahoga County, for example, they are dispatched to a hospital within
an hour or two of being notified.

Over the next 72 hours, the social workers investigate: Does the baby's
mother have strong support from her family? Is the mother willing to seek
drug treatment? Has the mother had other babies with drugs in their systems?

Plain Dealer reporter John Coyne contributed to this article.