POT-SMOKING FOSTER MOM FOUND GUILTY

License Lost After Child-Endangerment Conviction

A foster mother caught smoking pot in photographs in the presence of
the two toddlers in her care will never again have a child placed with
her after being convicted Wednesday of child endangerment.

State law says any person convicted on the misdemeanor charge cannot
be a licensed foster parent.

Stephanie Edwards, 26, of Mount Washington, was in the process of
adopting the 9-month-old and 1-year-old when she was arrested in September.

The children have been taken from her.

Hamilton County Municipal Judge Melissa Powers convicted Edwards on
two charges of child endangerment and sentenced her to two years on
probation, fined her $200 and ordered her to perform 200 hours of
community service.

Edwards also must submit to random drug testing during her probation
and undergo any drug treatment recommended by the probation department.

If she does not comply, she could land in jail for 180 days, Powers
said.

Powers said Edwards' pot smoking put the children at
risk.

"Using drugs is risky behavior," Powers told Edwards. "I just don't
see that you were providing a loving, nurturing environment."

Edwards' lawyer, R. Scott Croswell, had argued his client was smoking
pot, but was not impaired and therefore did not put the children at
risk.

Assistant Hamilton County Prosecutor Stacy Lefton said Edwards put the
child at risk simply by smoking the illegal drug.

Croswell said he would appeal the conviction.

Edwards was arrested after she took photos of herself and a boyfriend
smoking marijuana at their home Sept. 18.

The children were placed in Edwards' Mount Washington home by the
Hamilton County Department of Job and Family Services. She was a
licensed foster parent in Hamilton County.

Lefton said the couple was smoking marijuana after the children went
to bed, but they woke up and came into the same room as the couple.

One photo shows Edwards cuddling the 9-month-old girl, who had been in
Edwards' care since she was born, according to authorities.

When Edwards dropped off the pictures to be developed at an Anderson
Township CVS, a lab employee called the Hamilton County Sheriff's
Office to express his concern about what was in the photos.

Croswell defended Edwards at the hearing.

"Her children were taken from her, which is the true punishment," he
said.

"She wanted to be a mother to these young children.

"Whether she made a mistake or not, to suggest she was less than a
loving mother is not right," he said.