Background: MOMMA A, a 13-year-old girl, was raped by her maternal uncle and subsequently gave birth at the age of 12. She and her father are legal immigrants from Honduras and have faced numerous challenges. Some include her father’s detention by ICE, despite being cleared by Police of any knowledge or involvement in the crimes against his daughter and being deemed a ‘non-offending parent’ by the CHINS court. This detention prevented him from hiring a private attorney for MOMMA A. Unfortunately, the legal representation MOMMA A was provided for the safe haven case with her baby was inadequate and out of this attorney’s depth. 

Current Situation: Despite MOMMA A‘s efforts to reclaim her baby within the alloted legal timeframe and her completion of parenting classes while maintaining an A/B honor roll status, regular visits with the baby and obtaining all supplies needed; her court-appointed attorney failed to present any of this crucial evidence nor did he call any witnesses. Hospital nursing staff, visit supervisors, MOMMA A‘s CASA were all willing to testify and many were in attendance at the hearing but our attorney decided not to call them as he didn’t think it was necessary.  This didn’t provide the judge the full picture of MOMMA A’s efforts, connection with her baby, and assessment of her understanding of Safe Haven when she agreed to it after being approached by the hospital social worker. 

As a result, the judge ruled that MOMMA A had not met the burden of proof to demonstrate it was in the baby’s best interest to return to her care. He instead ruled in favor of the pre-adoptive parents’ continued care, citing Alexa faces financial and housing instability by being in foster care.

Call to Action: We are attempting to secure an experienced attorney to file an appeal against this decision or one willing to be co-counsel with the appointed one in an effort to challenge the validity of the Safe Haven act application in this case. The ruling has not yet been prepared or mailed, providing a critical window of opportunity.