In re Matthew N. CA2/2

BACKGROUND

This matter came to the attention of the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) on September 28, 2012. Three-year-old Mathew N. had been brought to the emergency room by S.W., Mother, for treatment of blisters resulting from burns on his back, buttocks, and thigh areas. Mother gave inconsistent explanations for Mathew’s burns. Finally, after failing a polygraph test, she admitted that she had hit Mathew and placed him in a bathtub with scalding hot water. Mathew was the subject of a prior dependency proceeding in 2009, when he was born prematurely at 24 weeks and tested positive for cocaine. In that proceeding, the dependency court sustained a count stating that Raymond N., Father, had a history of marijuana use and was a daily user of alcohol, leaving him unable to adequately protect and supervise Mathew. At the conclusion of the prior proceeding, Father was granted monitored visitation with Mathew. Mother had an extensive DCFS referral history, including for smoking crack cocaine in the presence of her children, and had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and severe depression. Father had a considerable criminal history, including convictions for marijuana…