Richard

FACTS

SSA placed a hospital hold on the child two days after his birth due to mother’s mental health issues, her difficulty in bonding with the child, and her subsequent abandonment of him. Five other children belonging to mother and father were declared dependents in 2011 when mother attacked the eldest child and was arrested. A son born in 2012 was also taken into protective custody after birth and placed in foster care.

2 Mother has a history of excessive discipline with the children and was diagnosed with mental illness, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression. She refused to take her prescribed medication or continue treatment and was hospitalized extensively. Father successfully reunified with the five older children and their cases were closed in June 2013. Soon after, father allowed mother back into the home. He acknowledged she would likely create serious problems “if he is unable to concretely enforce the rule that she is not allowed in the home.” He “claim[ed] that he had no choice” because of the way the exit orders were written. Mother told SSA she lived in the family home, but father and the five older children stated she lived in the camper in…