Baby Kim Case Study
Born four weeks early, Kim tested positive for crystal methamphetamines. She suffered an intracranial bleed and stayed in the neonatal intensive care unit for one month. It is unclear why she had suffered the bleed; there is no strong evidence that use of methamphetamines causes intracranial bleeds. It could have been a birth trauma or the result of a premature birth. In any case, Kim had a hard time learning to feed adequately.
Child Protective Services (CPS) became involved and discovered that both parents had a drug problem. In addition to Mom’s use of crystal methamphetamines, Dad used marijuana regularly. It was noted during a CPS visit that the home was clean and well organized. The parents had two other children, boys aged 4 and 7. They appeared to be well cared for, happy children. The older boy attended school regularly and excelled in his class. Dad worked and provided for the family. Mom stayed home and cared for the children. A CPS worker was assigned to the family. Kim went home with her parents, but they had to agree to give three urine drops each over a period of two weeks and place the younger son in day care. Mom had to attend a group for recovering drug addicts. When the worker came to sign the younger boy up for day care, Kim’s mother refused to let him go. She argued that she was at home and preferred to care for him herself. All three children were removed from the home. The boys were returned to the home after three days, but Kim was placed in foster care. Over the next few months, Mow always tested negative for drugs, though she missed two urine drops due to transportation problems. Dad, however, always had some questionable substances in his urine. Once he was clean for two drops, but then he drank a beer. Kim was in and out of foster homes, coming home periodically for brief periods before being removed again. By four months of age, she was showing severe failure to thrive and had to be fed by a tube. By eleven months, still in foster care, she was showing signs of developmental delay.