In re I.P. CA3

BACKGROUND

In September 2019, the Department filed a non-detaining section 300 petition on behalf of I.P. Both I.P. and mother tested positive for amphetamine and methamphetamine at the time of his birth. Mother denied any illicit drug use and suggested that the positive test results may have resulted from her prescription medications. Although this explanation was ruled out by lab results, mother continued to insist that her prescription medications caused the positive toxicology results. Mother had several subsequent positive tests in the month following I.P.’s birth (and was reportedly breastfeeding at the time), but later tests were negative for all substances and mother reported she was taking different medication. The Department determined that there were sufficient safeguards in place, including father’s presence in the home and ample family support, and the juvenile court dismissed the section 300 petition at the November 2019 jurisdiction hearing. On March 16, 2023, the Department received a referral reporting that mother tested positive for amphetamine and methamphetamine at the delivery of newborn W.P. Mother denied using any illicit drugs and asserted that she tested…